In A Hopeless Place
by wwefaneam41
Summary: No one will ever understand how much it hurts. You feel hopeless, like nothing can save you. And when it's over and it's gone, you almost wish you could have all that bad stuff back. So that you could have the good.-Rhianna We Found Love ft. Calvin Harris
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, I've been working on this for a while. And I'm pretty far ahead with it. Hopefully you'll like it, Let me know what you think!  
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**Summary:_ River Avery was struggling. Struggling to get by, struggling to make friends, simply struggling with herself. Will this weight-conscious young women allow a giant of a man to help her gain some sense back into her life when it seems like everyone else has fallen by the wayside? Or will she push him away the way she's pushed away the others?_**

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><p><strong>Part 1<strong>

_It's like you're screaming and no one can hear. You almost feel ashamed that someone could be that important, that without them you feel like nothing._ _No one will ever understand how much it hurts. You feel hopeless, like nothing can save you. And when it's over and it's gone, you almost wish you could have all that bad stuff back. So that you could have the good._**  
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The laptop sat in the middle of the bed while a red haired woman sat in a chair across the room, staring at it as if the thing had done something wrong to her. She looked down at herself and the three long-sleeved shirts she wore underneath the two sweatshirts. She'd hide it somehow.

The women nearly jumped when the laptop signaled that she was receiving a video chat call. She knew who it was; he always called at the same time on Thursday nights. It was her only night off, every week. Video chat was the only way she was able to see them but mostly it was his way of checking up on her. She'd found a way around it though, a way to make him not worry as much. She started layering her shirts a few weeks ago, really that's all he could see other than her face.

When the noise rang through the room again, she quickly ran over to the bed and hit the button expecting to see the greatest man who has ever been in her life. But when the live video popped up, she was greeted by her second step-mother's face.

"Oh, hey 'Chelle," the women said, sounding defeated.

"Well, don't be so excited to see me River. Your dad will be here in just a minute, he just didn't want you to think he'd forgotten about you. It was his turn to clean up the kitchen and we ate supper a li'l bit late tonight," this 'Chelle' answered.

"It's not that I'm not excited to see you," River backtracked, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be rude."

"I know sweetie. You miss your daddy. I get it, but before he gets here," she smiled, "Real talk?"

"Yeah Michelle, ask what you want," River said, giving permission for her young and beautiful step-mother to prod into her personal life.

"How are you doing?" Michelle asked without hiding the concern for her oldest step-daughter, really her old step-child.

"I'm alright. I wish I had time to come home more, though. Everyone is gone now and I'm feeling all alone. Ya know? It was easier when I first started because I had my dad and Uncle Glen was here all the time too," River answered with a shrug.

"Why don't you try to make friends with more of the backstage staff? If you talk with more of the people you work with, it might be easier on you," Michelle suggested.

"I've tried, 'Chelle. It's hard when they aren't there every night. Every time we change cities, we change arenas, which means we change crews. There aren't very many head of crews like me and the few that are there don't like me because I know so many of the older wrestlers, which is like three. They think that I only have my job because of who I know-"

"That isn't true, darlin'. Don't matter what they think, we know the truth," a deep voice rumbled from Michelle's side of the call.

"Hi daddy," Rivers smile grew even larger when her jade eyes were mirrored back at her, "I miss you."

"I miss you too, darlin'. How's things goin' on that side?" her dad asked with his deep southern drawl.

"Things are goin'. I saw Uncle Paul earlier this week, he says the girls are doin' real good and so is Aunt Steph. He said to tell you 'hi'. Other than that, I work all day and try to sleep all night," she said, trying to give him a run down on her week since she last talked to him face-to-face.

"And what about food? Are ya giving yourself time to eat? Are ya eating the right amount and are ya keeping it all down?" he interrogated sternly.

River paused, not wanting to lie to her dad but also not wanting to make him worry. So many times he'd made it sound so easy to just order or make the food and put it in her mouth. And often times she'd succeeded in ordering or making the food, that wasn't the issue, she could get it in her possession whenever she needed to. The problem was putting it in her mouth and then getting it to stay there. It was a mental thing, a psychological thing, a self-esteem thing. She just couldn't breathe.

"Of course, daddy," she replied, smiling nervously and hoping he couldn't see through her lie.

His criticizing look told her differently though, "How many shirts are you wearing, River Avery Callaway?"

"Now, daddy, don't get upset. I was just a little bit cold," River stammered through another lie.

"How many?" he asked again.

"Five," she admitted after stammering through a few more excuses, "I'm sorry."

"Darlin'," her dad said, trying but failing to hide the disappointment in his voice.

"Mark, before you say anything, you should keep in mind that she is all alone on the road. She travels from city to city by herself and she hardly ever gets more than a day off at a time. We got more time off than that as performers," Michelle reminded him.

"How often are you eating, darlin'?" Mark asked, immediately going into father mode, "Maybe you should take some time off and come home to recuperate. I can talk to Vince for you if your boss gives you a hard time-"

"Daddy stop. I'm not taking time off," River said, "And I don't want you talking to Vince for me. I hate it when you do this, you can't run my life and expect me to be okay with it. You just said that I didn't get this job because of whom I know and that means I can't use who I know to get time off. It isn't fair to the other head of crews and it isn't fair to me. Daddy this is my job, what if your dad did something like that to you, how would you feel?"

Mark sighed heavily, "you're right, darlin'. I'm sorry; I'm just so worried about you. I don't want a repeat of what happened four years ago. That was the scariest time of my life; I don't want you to end up in the hospital again."

"I'm sorry daddy. The next time we come close to Austin I'll stop by home and we can do something together. Okay?" River suggested.

"That sounds like a good time. You should probably get to bed, darlin'. Don't forget to call your brother and sisters soon. And I'm sure your mom wouldn't mind hearing from you soon too," Mark said.

"I'll call Gunner and the girls tomorrow. If mom wanted to hear from me she would have done something different four years ago, daddy. She doesn't want to hear from me and if she does then she can ask Gunner for my number. She'll call when she's ready to talk to me," River told him, "I love you daddy."

"Love you too, darlin'. I'll call you sometime this weekend."

River agreed before ending the call and closing her laptop. She took a deep breath and walked into the bathroom. When she looked into the mirror, she saw everything she was trying to get away from. She didn't see what her dad claimed was there, or technically wasn't. She saw her real size and quickly stripped the extra shirts.

Thankfully, her dad hadn't asked about her medicine. She'd stopped taking her anti-depressants because she didn't believe she was depressed, just fat. And anorexic. Not depressed.


	2. Chapter 2

**So, I've never done review responds, but I thought it'd be fun.  
><em>SandraSmit19:<em> Thank you! Here is your more to read soon! I hope you keep liking it!  
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**_Bingbaby:_ A big reason for writing this was to get a positive message to readers. The first few chapters might not seem that way, but eventually it'll get there!**

**_kbelle720:_ There were some tears while I was right, it's a pretty raw topic for me as well. That's another big drawing factor for writing this story. It's pretty personal and it hits close to home for me.**

**Now, on to the story! (:  
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><p><strong>Part 2<strong>

"_Mamma I'm home!" River called as she walked through the door of the small house she lived in with her mom and younger brother._

"_We're in the kitchen. Tryin' to figure out what to make for supper," Jodi called back._

_The 17-year-old red head walked into the kitchen and plopped down onto a chair at the kitchen table, her backpack falling to the floor beside her. She'd just had one of the longest weeks ever and she was so glad that is was the weekend. Early morning practices that consisted of running around the track in the dark every morning was not her favorite activity, especially when she could be sleeping. Then going to school after that and having two-hour practices for four days just for one track meet a week. It was beginning to feel pointless to her, all that hard work when she really wasn't going to use it for anything._

"_How was school today, baby?" her mom asked._

"_It was alright, just long," River answered with a shrug._

_Jodi nodded, "What sounds good for supper?"_

"_Oh, Ashley, Megan, and I stopped for something to eat on the way home, so I'm not really hungry," River lied._

"_Fast food again, River? That's every night this week. It's so unhealthy and if you keep eating like that you'll be gaining a ton of unwanted weight in places you'd never expect," Jodi chastised._

_River didn't say anything, just looked at the grain of the wood table. If only her mom knew the truth, she wouldn't say things like that, things that only egged her on. She sighed and stood up from the table, pulling her backpack with her before trudging to her bedroom. Hiding underneath her bed was the scale she bought a year and a half ago._

Has it really been that long?_ She thought as she pulled it out and prepared herself for her second weigh-in of the day. _101_, the scale read. It wasn't enough for River. For some reason, it became about the numbers. When it first started it was only about losing weight and staying fit, having muscle like her daddy and her step-mom, well her ex-step-mom. Now it seemed like it was only about the numbers, if it wasn't under 100 then it was too high._

_Sighing again, River put the scale back underneath her bed. She pulled out the journal that she kept only to write down her weight. She didn't know why she weighs herself two times a day; it was just something she had to do. And if she couldn't get in reach of a scale she'd go into a panic attack, it was almost as bad as the panic attacks she went into when she was forced to eat. Family gatherings were the worse. Or maybe when she was visiting her dad. If she wasn't eating he'd get suspicious and think she wasn't ever eating, which was pretty close to the truth._

"Hey Avery, the trainers are asking for you," one of the temporary staffers called from underneath her.

"Alright I'll be there in a minute," she called back.

She knew what they wanted. Her dad must have called them and told them about her wearing multiple shirts during their video chats. He was a great dad, even though he was hardly around growing up, but he had this overprotective thing going on that drove her crazy. Although, when she took a step back and really looked at herself she couldn't argue with him, he had good reason to be worried.

That weekend that she'd just been reminiscing she'd ended up in the hospital and then her mom had sent her to some kind of rehab facility that doubled as a school until she graduated. Apparently it wasn't that safe to weigh 100 pounds at 5 foot 9 inches. Sometimes she cursed her father's height advantage.

When she finally got out of that stupid rehab place, where they literally shoved food in her face if she didn't eat, her mom called her dad claiming she couldn't handle River and he needed to find a way to deal with her. Mark was upset with both Jodi and River, but he took her in, helped her get a job, and tried to keep her eating. He was upset with Jodi for not seeing what was happening with their daughter and for not even trying to truly help her. But on the other hand he was upset with River for letting it get so far without asking for help, without telling him something was wrong.

"River, we haven't seen you in here in a while," Larry said when he say her walking to the training room.

"That's because I have a job to do."

"And part of your job requires that you see us regularly. I got a phone call about an hour ago," Larry said, "Do you wanna guess who it was from?"

"Well if it has to do with me then it can really only be one person," she responded, rolling her eyes, "He's overreactin'. I haven't even weighed myself in almost a year, I let you guys do that for me. It's progress, right?"

"Sweetie, you know that I don't specialize in psychological disorders, but I'd say that is definitely progress. And you are looking a decently healthy weight," he commented, appraising me, "Or are you wearing five shirts?"

"I was cold, Larry. That kind of thing doesn't just go away, I'm always cold," River argued.

"Alright, alright. I'm not trying to upset you, your dad just wants you to be healthy and happy," Larry told her.

"I know. Can I get back to work now? I have siblings to call when I'm done," she said with a smile.

"Of course, we'll get dinner tomorrow okay?" Larry suggested.

"That sounds good, Larry. Thank you, for everything you've done," River hugged him before walking out of the training room and almost running into a brick wall.

"Sorry about that," a voice said from above her spot that was now on the floor, "Here let me help you up."

Two strong hands, that literally circled her waist, pulled her up to her feet. When she got her eyes focused she realized she was looking at a large chest and she had to crane her neck to see the face of the man who she ran into.

"Hi," she squeaked, feeling rather dumb when he chuckled, "Sorry, I didn't mean to run into you. I was on my way back to work, I didn't even see you."

"Now that's a first," he chuckled again, "No one has ever not seen me."

"No, I just meant that I wasn't paying attention. I didn't mean that I didn't see-"

"I'm joking. What's your name?" he asked.

She shook her head, trying not to laugh. The man had worked with her dad when she was younger and she'd been working on the same show as him since she turned 18, how did he not know her name? If she were honest, she preferred it that way. That's why everyone called thought her last name was Avery. Even though most of the temporary staffers were given major background checks and applications that were soundproof, she didn't want some crazy fan-girls trying to get in nice with her because of who her family was. Heck, most of the wrestlers didn't even know who her dad was.

"Oh, sorry, I'm River. I'm junior head of the ring crew," she told him.

"I thought you looked familiar. I knew I'd seen you somewhere before," he smiled, "Paul Wight."

"I know who you are," River said, "I should probably get back to work now. Thanks for helping me up."

"It's not a problem River, but you should probably but some meat on that body of yours. You're too tiny," Paul said, "It was nice meeting you."

She closed her eyes as she walked away. He didn't understand, he didn't know what she was going through, he didn't mean what he said. River felt like she could breathe easy when she reached the ring again and saw that it was finished, her job wasn't done but she could at least take a break and call her brother. Climbing into the ring and sitting down right in the middle, she pulled out her phone and dialed his number.


	3. Chapter 3

**Part 3**

"_Hey River_," Gunner answered a smile in his voice.

"Hey Gun. How are you doin'?" she asked.

"_I'm doin'. Mom's on me 'bout school all the time and I'm workin' whenever I'm not in class, but other than that I ain't gonna complain_," he said. River could practically hear the shrug in his voice. It amazed her every day how much he sounded like their dad, their mannerisms were exactly alike and it always brightened her day whenever she talked to either one of them because they reminded her so much of each other.

"You're getting' your homework and everythin' done on time though, right? 'Cause school is more important than workin'. I mean, if you aren't makin' good grades then what's the point, you ain't gonna get a good job in the future," River lectured making Gunner laugh.

"_You have no idea how many times I hear that in a week. Mom tells me that on a daily basis, sometimes three times a day_," Gunner informed her.

"Oh God. I sound like Mom?" River asked.

"_No, you just say things that she would say. It's not a bad thing, Riv_," he assured.

"Yeah, not so sure about that," she mumbled, laying down on the mat and looking up at the ceiling of the arena. She wasn't even sure if she could have told him what city she was currently in, she didn't know the name of the arena, and she definitely didn't know the name of the hotel she was staying in. Her life was such a mess and she didn't know how to clean it up. Going home sounded like a good idea, but she knew that it would only mess up the routine she had going on at the moment. Routine was the only way River got through everything, it's the way she talked herself into eating at least a little bit every day.

"_How are you doin', River? And I mean, how are you really doin'? Not some half assed 'I'm fine' answer_," Gunner warned.

River laughed, he always knew how to get around her barriers and get to the answers he wanted, "I'm doin' better, Gunner. I miss bein' home and I miss havin' people I really know around me all the time. I miss the time I used to get with daddy when he was on the road and now that 'Chelle and Uncle Glenn aren't here either it just gets worse. But it's nice to not have them breathin' down my neck all the time too. It's nice to have the freedom."

"_Too much freedom?_" he asked a hint of disappointment in his voice.

"When did you last talk to daddy?"

"_He called me last night_," Gunner answered truthfully, "_He said that you were hidin' underneath five shirts. Listen River, I'm not goin' to pretend that I understand what you go through, because I don't. I don't understand it at all. When I look at you, I see my beautiful red haired, green eyed older sister who is capable of doing absolutely anythin' she sets her mind to. You are amazin' and beautiful and I hate to see you suffer and I hate it when you're upset with yourself because I know I can't do anythin' to stop it._"

When he finished his speech, River was nearly in tears. She knew that one day her issues would have an effect on her siblings but she always thought it would affect Chasey and Gracie more. She thought that once they realized what was wrong with her they would follow in her footsteps, that was her biggest fear of all. But to hear her brother voice his own concerns about her health upset her more than she thought it would.

"I'm sorry Gunner," River whispered through the phone, "It is getting' better, I promise. I just hate that Dad has to see me and I don't want to see that sadness in his eyes whenever he looks at me. That's why I put on all those shirts. He just has this look like he blames himself or somethin' and I hate it. I feel so bad because it's not his fault."

"_Whose fault is it?"_

"Mine, I guess. It's not like there's someone else tellin' me that what I'm doin' to myself is right. I know that it's wrong and that I need to stop, I just don't know how. I don't know how to explain it, I mean some days I feel okay and I'm ready to face the day but then other days I wake up and if I even smell food I just, I don't know, I freak out I guess," River tried to explain, "It's not a choice. Which I think is what some people don't understand. I'm not choosin' to do this to myself; I don't want to do this to myself. I just can't stop it."

"_I guess that makes sense. I mean as much sense as it can to a person who doesn't go through what you do_," Gunner finally said after he let everything his sister said sink in, "_I just want you to be okay and I want you to be happy._"

"I'm tryin'," River said with a sigh, "I'm tryin'."

"_That's all we can ask for, really_," Gunner replied.

"Hey are you gonna lay in the ring all day or can we get some practicing done?"

The voice was so loud that River dropped her phone as she jumped up from her place in the ring. She looked around to see a couple of the newer wrestlers standing on the apron, just outside the ropes. Feeling a bit like an idiot, River watched as they climbed through the ropes to stand in front of her. One of them picked up her phone and ended the call.

"Are you even allowed to be in the arena?" one of them asked.

River rolled her eyes, "I've been here a lot longer than you have and I'm pretty sure I've got more leverage in this business than you do."

"Guys, this is that chick that knows all the older wrestlers," another informed the rest, "I heard that she's slept with them all."

At that comment, she almost gagged. Sleeping with her dad's friends was just gross, not to mention that most of them were married and they were old. Sometimes, River didn't understand people, why would they make up stupid rumors about someone they didn't even know. And then another thought occurred to her, if she couldn't understand other people then how in the hell could she understand herself.

"Can I have my phone back? You just hung up on my brother and he'll probably be pretty pissed when I call him back," River announced, holding her hand out for the item.

"I don't know. Maybe we should check it out, see what other dirty little secrets you've got hiding in here-"

"Hey River, I've been looking everywhere for you," someone called from the top of the ramp.

The four people in the ring turned to see Paul Wight walking down the ramp and towards the ring. It confused River to no end. What reason could he have possibly been looking for her? It didn't make any sense, seeing as how they had literally just met.

"Another quick lay in the back, no doubt," one of the rookies mumbled behind her.

"Just give me my phone," she growled, snatching it out of his hand and slipping of the ring, meeting Paul halfway.

"Where those guys bugging you?" he asked when they reached each other.

"Nothing I'm not used to. Hold on a second, I have to call my brother back," River told him.

"You should probably call your dad too. He called me and asked me to keep an eye out for you, that's why I was looking for you," Paul admitted, causing River to growl, "Why didn't you tell me you were Mark's daughter?"

"If you were his daughter, would you be telling everyone you knew?" she countered.

"Well, no, I guess not," he said with a laugh, "Do you wanna tell me why I'm supposed to be looking out for you? You're not gonna off yourself, are you?"

"I'm not tryin' to off myself, to be honest. But no, I don't wanna tell ya why you're supposed to be lookin' out for me 'cause I'm gonna have a talk with my daddy 'bout that. It's not somethin' I like talkin' 'bout or sharin' with people I don't know," she answered, shaking her head, "I can't believe he called you too. He's goin' way overboard this time."

"Well, here's the thing. If I'm gonna be looking out for you then I need to know what I'm looking out for," Paul said trying to compromise.

"When I get done with my daddy you ain't gonna need to be lookin' out for no one," River told him before she stormed off to call her dad.

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><p><strong><em>Bingobaby<em>: thank you very much. I've finished up to chapter 13 with this story, so posts will probably be more frequent than SMHTL. I hope you liked this chapter as well!**

**_kbelle720: _for sure, if you want to message me I will gladly talk about my struggles. And I totally agree, Show is definitely a teddy bear, along with 'Taker and Kane. I'm convinced, no matter how mean they can look. Even during their heel days, they were some of my favorites.**

**_SandraSmit19: _So much truth, I think I may have read one or possibly two Paul Wight fics. I was actually watching his DVD _The Big Show: A Giant's World_ when I decided to write a story with him in it. And I think the differences in their sizes (super small for an eating disorder vs a giant) is what made me choose him.**

**I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and I look forward to hearing what you all have to say about it! (:  
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	4. Chapter 4

**Part 4**

The next couple weeks were strange for River, ever since the phone call from her dad Paul had been popping up unexpectedly wherever she happened to be at any given moment and he always seemed to invite her out for a bite to eat. At some points it unnerved her, she didn't want other people, outside her family, knowing that she hated to eat. Then other times it was nice to have a friend again, someone she could talk to and who would talk to her without any underlying mention of her illness.

For Paul, it was just nice to have someone to look out for, even if he had no idea what he was looking out for. When Calaway had first made the call, Paul was under the impression that he was on a suicide watch. River had quickly squashed that fear. In his opinion, he had never seen someone so full of life and with the outlook on it that she seemed to possess.

She could make anything beautiful just by a simple explanation and her smile lit up even the darkest room, if only someone would just take the time to look at her. He couldn't believe that no one had taken the opportunity to snatch her up. Although, if they couldn't look past the fact that it was unbelievably hard to just take her out to eat then that would be his first clue. And if she actually agreed to go out to eat somewhere, it would be even harder to look past her strange eating habits.

Over the past sixteen or so days, Paul had offered to take River out to eat for just about every meal and almost every time she had some kind of excuse as to why she couldn't join him. Eventually she ran out of excuses and was forced to agree, as was the case on this particular night.

"So, Calaway, are you thinking about where you want to eat?" Paul asked as he drove around yet another unfamiliar city.

"Nope, that's your job. And stop callin' me Calaway, people are gonna start getting' suspicious or somethin'," River answered, not bothering to look at him.

It wasn't that she didn't want to go out with him. River actually rather enjoyed his company, it had more to do with the fact that they were going out to eat. If he had asked her to hang out at the mall or stay in and watch a movie, she would have jumped at the idea, but eating in front of someone who didn't know and didn't understand would never get easier. No matter how many times they ate together, she always felt embarrassed every time she put that fork or spoon to her mouth. It would never change until she got better, and she didn't know how long that would take.

"What are people gonna get suspicious about? Your last name is Calaway, not many people know-"

"Paul, every diehard 'Taker fan knows Mark's name. And most of the talent knows Mark's name, and none of the talent knows my name. I'd like to keep it that way," River about snapped at him. They'd had this conversation before; it always ended the same in an awkward silence because Paul just didn't understand.

Paul didn't get that River didn't like the attention her dad always received. He didn't understand that River liked living her life in the nice, quiet solitude that she'd made for herself. She just liked to be alone and he couldn't comprehend why. But then again, when you are a giant you must get used to living your life with attention. Attention wasn't something River liked; she didn't like people poking in on her personal life mostly because she was embarrassed by it. She was embarrassed by herself, by her inabilities and psychological setbacks.

"Well, have you at least thought about what you want to eat?" Paul asked softly, wanting to ease the ever growing tension in the rental car that was already much too small.

River sighed, "Not really. You?"

"You know I'm always hungry, Calaway," he smirked, "I'm thinking some wings for an appetizer, then stopping for a salad. Ya know, need to keep it healthy for the ring. Possibly some greasy cheeseburger or maybe a steak for dinner."

"Sounds like your usual meals. " Inwardly, River cringed. How could someone possibly eat all of that? It sounded absolutely disgusting to her, although the salad was something she might go for. When she told him so, he only shook his head and repeated her sentiment.

"Sounds like your usual meals."

Arriving at a restaurant that looked as though it weren't too crowded nor too shady didn't take as long as River had first anticipated which set her nerves on end. She thought she'd had more time to prepare herself to sit down and eat in front of this giant of a man. Now she was trying her hardest to still her shaking hands when the waitress came over to take their drink orders. River prayed against all odds that Paul didn't notice, she didn't need him asking any questions.

"Have you looked at your schedule lately?" Paul asked suddenly, after a quick glance through the menu.

"Which part of it should I have looked at specifically?" River countered, "I'm more interested in what days I could possibly con my way into gettin' off. Though, those days are few and far between."

"The part about where we'll be next week," he hinted.

River shook her head, "It wastes too much energy to know where I am and where I'm goin'. I usually just put the arena in my GPS and listen to the annoyin' computerized voice tellin' when that I made a wrong turn. By the time I actually get to the arena, I've already forgotten what the name of it is. Same goes for the city and hotel I stay in. Why? What is so important about where we'll be next week?"

"We have a couple house shows in and around Houston," Paul stated casually, laughing when she almost choked as she took a sip of her water the waitress had just brought her.

"How many is a couple?" she whispered after they ordered their food. It had actually taken her that long to process what he'd told her. Why hadn't someone told her earlier? More specifically, why hadn't her dad said something when they'd spoken the night before? Being who he is, he'd know that she'd be around and that she had no idea that she'd be around.

"All week long," he answered, not understanding where the sudden nervousness was coming from, "the RAW and SmackDown shows are going to be in Austin. But other than that we'll be closer to Houston than you'd think. I thought you'd be excited, you get to see your dad and your brother."

Leaning back in her seat, River was speechless for a minute. "No, I am. I mean, I can't wait to see them, even if it won't be for very long. I just, there's a lot of. Stuff that you don't know, Paul. Can you do me a favor?"

When she finally met his eyes to ask him that question, it was as if she were pleading with him to just give in to her. He wanted to say yes, but he knew that it was a dangerous path to go down without first knowing what the favor was. So he asked. "What is it River?"

"When my dad comes around, do you think that you could maybe not be there?" she asked hesitantly.

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><p><em><strong>SandraSmit19:<strong>_** I think this chapter explains that no one really knows that she is Mark's daughter. And definitely, you don't treat people that way. I hope you enjoyed the time with River and Paul, more is to come, I promise. I pretty much love writing them together!**

_**kbelle720:**_ **I've always thought that Mark's kids would be totally nonchalant to him, especially since he wasn't around much when they were growing up. Well, at least in my story he wasn't. I don't know about his real life, haha.**

**_Bingobaby:_ Your reasoning about the conversation between River and her brother, Gunner, was definitely the whole reason I added it. I felt that it was important to not only develop some type of relationship between the siblings and I think that discussing her eating disorder was helpful to not only River but to Gunner as well. Sorry that I didn't write in a conversation between River and her dad, I just didn't really feel like it was too influential in the story. I felt that it was kind of hinted at what was going to be said. I hope you liked this chapter though!  
><strong>


	5. Chapter 5

**Part 5**

"Why?" Paul scoffed, "He already knows that we hang out."

River paused a moment before answering, trying to think of just the right words to say. "It's just that, there will be a lot of questions thrown around and I'm not sure that I'm ready to explain them."

As he took her words in, replaying them in his mind to try to figure out what they meant, Paul could only decipher that she was embarrassed by him. Which was a thought he couldn't quite understand. They'd only just become friends and as far as he could remember he hadn't done anything that would have been embarrassing. Unless she just didn't like him. That would explain why she never wanted to hang out with him, why she was always making up excuses to get out of going out to eat with him. And at that moment, though he wouldn't admit it to anyone except himself, his pride was a little hurt.

The rest of dinner at that small diner was quiet. Paul never answered River's request and she wasn't sure why not. Although, he had seemed rather distant considering the fact that it was usually him who started all of their conversations. But she liked it that way; she had never been very good at just blabbing away. Always seeing herself as the awkward duck, it was another factor in her psychological downfall. River just wanted to be free.

Paul was just angry with himself and a little bit with River. Here was this amazing girl who acted as though she knew nothing of what she truly held. And he was the dumb brute who had started to get feelings for her. Feelings for the girl who was embarrassed to be seen talking with the giant. He had a soft heart, his sister always told him it would be his downfall, and it had brought him to his knees on many occasions but never this soon.

When they got back to the arena, River expected Paul to try to make some kind of plans for tomorrow but he said nothing. There wasn't even an 'I'll see ya later', he just walked away to get ready for the show. Normally, she would have been happy about that because it meant she wouldn't have to make up another excuse, but she was getting attached to him. Paul was becoming a part of her routine, a healthy part of her routine and some days she swore that she was actually normal. For him to just walk away felt like a break in her routine and suddenly she felt sick to her stomach.

Pulling her phone out of her pocket, she saw that she wouldn't be needed for a while. That fact didn't make her feel any better though while she walked around the hallways of the arena, choosing to keep to the more empty ones. Lost in thought, River wondered what she'd done wrong. Her gut was telling her that she'd eaten too much. She shouldn't have shared his onion rings when he'd offered, but the smell of them was intoxicating and it was rare that something actually looked good to her. That must have been what turned him away, he was probably disgusted that she'd eaten them.

"Miss Avery," a voice called out from behind her.

River turned around and smiled at the approaching figure, "Mr. Farrlley, to what do I owe this pleasure?"

"Now, lass, I've told ya ta call meh Stephen," the large Irish born wrestler smiled.

"And I've asked you to call me River, but you still insist on callin' me 'Miss Avery'. If you call me River, I'll call you Stephen," she countered.

"I'll try. Now, I've heard some of the fella's saying some stuff and I wanted ta let ya know that they're talking about you again," Stephen informed her.

"They're always talkin' about me. What'd they say this time?" River asked, her jade eyes losing more of the light they'd seemed to have acquired in the few weeks she'd spent with Paul.

"The usual stuff, more including Paul Wight. I heard ya've been hanging out with him quite a bit," Stephen smirked.

"Yes well, I'm pretty sure I ruined that tonight. We were just friends, anyway Stephen so stop lookin' so smug. I told you I'm not into datin' anyone on the roster," River said with a shake of her head.

"Not even me?" he asked, pouting when she scoffed and shook her head again, "Ah come one, lass. Just one date? We can do anything you want and then I promise you I'll stop bugging you about it."

"You are probably my only friend here Stephen," she answered.

"Most of the best relationships start as friendships," he argued.

"And when it doesn't work out, I lose my only friend and the only person who actually talks to me on a regular basis. I'm sorry, I cannot date you," River told him.

"Can't or won't?"

River took a deep breath before looking him in the eye and answering him honestly, "Probably a bit of both."

* * *

><p><em><strong>SandraSmit19: <strong>_**I hope that response satisfied you. Hope you liked it!**

**_kbelle720: _I'm glad you think they're cute. And, I think that if I were in River's position I would be terrified as well!**

**_Bingobaby: _River will be reunited with her dad and brother in the next chapter! **

**Thank you guys for your reviews, they make me very very happy! I'm glad you're enjoying it and I love to see what you all think of the story!  
><strong>


	6. Chapter 6

**Part 6**

River sat in the middle of the bed in the hotel room with her feet tucked underneath her body. Her thumbnail placed between her teeth as a nervous habit while she was thinking. And although she should be ecstatic that they were in Austin, that she'd be seeing her brother and dad tomorrow, River couldn't seem to shake the sadness that seemed to take over her being. She was not depressed.

"I am not depressed," she repeated to herself, more like chanted to herself in an effort to believe it as truth.

Depression wasn't her issue at the moment. She hadn't seen Paul since that Friday. Two whole days without any contact from her new friend and River felt as if she were going through some kind of withdrawals. And that thought was the most ridiculous thing she'd ever thought. He wasn't some kind of drug; he was a friend of her dads. Someone meant to look after her because her dad couldn't do it himself. But why had he turned his back so suddenly?

"'Cause I'm a disgustin' mess," she chided. That was something she'd told herself more often than not over the years. It was her excuse for everything and she'd started to believe it was true when she was about 14 years old. From there, her sickness grew into something she couldn't control, something she couldn't reign in.

She lay down on the bed, not even bothering to cover up. If she died from hypothermia it would be just as painful as starvation, she figured. Her eyes fluttered shut until she was surrounded by images of what her own Utopia would consist of. Somehow, the prince charming looked vaguely similar to Paul.

**XXX**

Paul knew he was probably letting Mark down by avoiding River, but after being told, in not so many words, that he was an embarrassment he didn't really care. If she didn't want to be seen with him, then he'd make damn sure she wasn't. He was only helping her out.

What he didn't understand was why he felt so bad when she looked so sad, so lonely. She waited around during shows by herself, Paul never witnessed her have any sort of contact with any of the people she worked with. And the rumors he'd heard about her were the worst. How anyone could think she was some kind of ring rat was beyond him. But then again, he knew her. Or so he thought.

He'd see people whispering about her, loud enough for everyone around them to hear. He'd see her ignore the things people said about her, not even flinching at their remarks. No matter how much he wanted to stand up for her, he stood his own ground firmly. She said to stay away, that's what he was doing.

His phone ringing brought him out of his thoughts and he looked over at Van apologetically before answering.

"Ya seen my li'l girl, Wight?" the thick southern drawl rang from the other end of the line.

"Not today, Mark," Paul sighed, "I'm not even in Austin yet, still on the bus. Oh, I'm being told we'll be there in another hour or so. Why? Something wrong?"

"Nope, just haven't been able to get a hold of her. Y'all have a show tonight or does she have the night off?" Mark asked.

"I don't know, man. I'm not her keeper," Paul snipped, showing signs of his own irritation.

"Well, damn son. I never said ya were. Darlin' just told me y'all were hangin' out some the last time we talked and I figured ya'd know where she'd be at. I'll try an' call 'er again, see if I can get 'er to answer the damn phone this time," Mark said back, somehow finding it humorous that Paul was getting so antsy.

Looking down at his phone, Paul realized that Mark had already hung up and rested his head in his hands. He knew why he was so upset with River's words. If it had been some random person, he wouldn't have taken any offense to it. He was used to people looking at him funny. But River was something special, she was hiding something and he'd been meaning to get to the bottom of it. She wasn't like most girls, especially the ones they worked with. He wasn't used to girls like her and he was attracted to her like no one else he'd ever met before. For some reason he couldn't explain, River had a hold on him and if the way he'd been acting the past few days were any kind of foreshadowing into the future, she wouldn't be letting go anytime soon.

**XXX**

River jumped awake at the sound of _Walls_ by All Time Low blaring from her cell phone. Through her sleep induced haze she was slightly aware that she was receiving a phone call but couldn't be sure who it was from. Rolling over towards the bedside table, River lazily slapped her hand around looking for the loud device and having a slight 'aha' moment when she finally caught it. With heavy-lidded eyes, she slide her finger over the touch screen, skillfully accepting the call.

"'Lo," she answered.

"River Avery Calaway, where in God's name have you been?" came the angry voice that could only belong to her father.

"Mornin' Daddy. I'm feelin' pretty good, too. Though, it is pretty early and I don't think it's time for me to wake up yet-"

"I'm not in the mood for your sarcasm, li'l girl," he deadpanned, "And don't give me any of that early shit, it's not even 5 at night. How long you been asleep for?"

"I don't know. A couple hours, I guess. I didn't really have anythin' else to do, so I figured a nap might do me some good. I haven't been gettin' enough sleep lately," River replied as she sat up and stretched, a yawn slipping through her lips.

"How does dinner with your old man sound?" Mark asked, sounding hopeful.

"You in Austin?" she asked, smiling a bit when he grunted his approval, "I'm not really hungry right now, more tired than anythin' if I'm honest."

"Okay, let me rephrase that. I'm takin' you and your brother to dinner with me and sayin' no is not an option. There is no getting' out of, darlin'," he told her sternly though she could practically hear the smirk in his voice. That was one thing she loved most about her dad, to most people he closed his emotions off but to her he never hid them making sure she knew just what he was feeling. He understood that she didn't deal with bullshit well.

"Well, if Gunner's comin' along too, I guess I can make an appearance," she teased laughing heartily when he voiced his objection, "Love you daddy. I'll be ready in just a little bit. You stayin' at my hotel too?"

"You know I am. Gotta be close to my baby girl, don't I? 'Chelle's out with some of the girls, so it's just you, me and Gun. Unless there's anyone you want to invite with us," he hinted.

River bit her lip at that and shook her head though he couldn't see it, "No, let's keep it just family. You, me, and Gun. Baby brother can even stay in my room tonight if he wants; it'll be fun to catch up."

"You got it, baby girl. We'll meet you in the lobby in 20."

"Ay, ay, Captain," she smiled.

"10-4," he joked.

"Over and out, daddy."

* * *

><p><em><strong>Bingobaby: <strong>_**I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well. There will be more of River, Gunner, and Mark in the next chapter. **

**_kbelle720: _Not only is five shirts more noticeable but it's like the first time she'll see her family in person in a long time. And, Sheamus is my love. I have a story with him that is somewhat in the works that I've posted, if you'd like to take a look at it. **

**_SandraSmit19:_ I'm glad you loved it! And I'm excited to see what you think of this chapter as well!  
><strong>


	7. Chapter 7

**Part 7**

River hadn't factored in all of the 'superstars' that happened to be arriving at the same time that she was supposed to be meeting her dad. One in particular, George Murdoch, known to the Universe as Brodus Clay, was the worst and of course he spotted her as soon as she stepped off the elevator. His smirk gave her chills; at least her dad was a good-looking monster.

Sighing, she plopped down on a couch in the lobby while she waited for her dad and brother. Sometimes she wondered how they could possibly take longer than she did and she had been sleeping when they called. Her eyes slipping closed and rubbing a hand over her face, River felt the weight of someone sitting next to her. The strong scent of whatever cologne he used, hitting her hard and she had to fight the sneeze that threatened her nose.

"Avery," he said, she could already hear the humor in his voice.

"Murdoch."

"Your hostility is wounding," George laughed, "What are you doing outside of your room? We don't have a show tonight."

River rolled her eyes and ignored him, though his presence was physically impossible to ignore. He had slid over until their bodies were touching; shoulder, arm, thigh, and leg. It took all her strength to hold in the shiver that ripped through her body.

"Hey!"

Her head snapped up and a smile graced her face as she saw her brother coming towards her. River jumped off the couch and ran towards him, laughing when he tried to catch her but ended up losing his balance causing both of them to collapse on the floor. Gunner and River lay on the floor laughing while their dad stood over them shaking his head, wondering how he got the weird kids.

"Y'all just gonna lay there or we gonna go out for some grub?" he drawled, causing River to look up at him.

"Daddy!" she gasped, "Where'd your hair go?"

Mark shook his head and held out both of his hands to his children, grunting a bit at Gunner's unexpected weight and a little bit upset at how light River seemed to be. Trying to hide the sadness he felt before she turned around, he put a smile on his face and pulled her into his arms for a hug.

"Is that another one, Avery?"

Mark felt River tense in his arms and released her when she pushed away from him. He expected some kind of explanation and was surprised when he watched River walk out of the hotel completely. Gunner looked over at him, shrugging his shoulders and followed after her. Mark sent a glare to the young rookie who interrupted his family moment before going after his kids.

"River, wait up a second. Who was that guy?" he heard Gunner asking as he ran after River.

Mark watched as River stopped, leaning against a rental car as her shoulders shook, "His name's George Murdoch, he's one of the guys that hung up on you that one day."

Was River crying? No, she couldn't be. River never cried; the only weakness he knew that she had was her anorexia. And she didn't even cry over that. Gunner was stunned, but Mark couldn't even move.

"What did he mean? I don't understand what he meant," Gunner said, shaking his head as he walked up and put his hand on River's shoulder.

"Him and some of the other rookies," she sniffed, "They think that, since I'm close with Paul, and Glen and Kevin and now he's seen me with Dad. Well, I don't really know what they think exactly but they harass me about it any chance they get."

"What?" Mark roared.

"It's nothin' for you to worry about, Daddy. I've got it under control-"

"Not if you're this upset about it, ya don't. This is somethin' we need to talk about with your boss and if we have to we'll go to someone higher up-"

"Daddy stop. We've gone over this before. I'll deal with it, I don't want you interferin' with my job any more than you already have. And don't say you haven't 'cause I know that ya have," River said, "Let's just go get somethin' to eat and catch up."

"Promise me right now that you're actually gonna eat," Gunner butt in, stealing the words out of his father's mouth. River gaped at him for a second before sighing and nodding, but that apparently wasn't good enough. "No. I want you to promise, an actual meal will be ordered. I don't care if you don't eat all of it, but I you need to promise me that you will at least try."

"I'll try," she whispered.

"River," he said his voice with a hint of warning in it.

"I promise to try. I promise to order an actual meal and I promise to eat _some_ of it," she said, finally giving him what he wanted after taking a deep breath.

**XXX**

Paul was exhausted after the full day of travelling, even though he hadn't driven it himself. He'd invited his driver out for dinner, just a little thing he could do to repay him for putting up with the long hours they spent together on the bus. Van was a saint for dealing with Paul's grumpy moods and serious mood swings. The most recent one happening just today, though he never complained once.

"What are you getting', Paul?" Van asked.

Just as Paul opened his mouth to answer, he heard the door open and he heard the laugh that hadn't left his mind since the first time he'd ever been graced by it. His eyes snapped up towards the door, making contact with hers before seeing Mark walk in behind her.

River took a step back, running into her dad's strong chest and felt him chuckle a bit. He stepped around her and walked right up to the table Paul was sitting at, totally ignoring the hostess when she asked how many people where in their party. Gunner made to follow but River grabbed his hand and sent him a pleading look. She couldn't keep her promise with him here.

"River, Gunner get on over here," Mark called them over, "Gun, this here is Paul Wight, a good friend of mine. And this is his driver, Van Youngblood. They were just lookin' over the menu and offered for us to join 'em. Y'all don't mind, do ya?"

"Course not, Daddy."

**XXX**

She stayed mostly quiet during dinner, other than ordering the meal she'd promised Gunner before they'd left the hotel. He hadn't been happy that it was only a small soup, salad, and a breadstick, but as River whispered in his ear, not wanting Paul and Van to hear, she hadn't promised how large of a meal she'd order. Then he wasn't satisfied with how little of it she'd eaten and he was taken aback by how tightly she was gripping his hand the whole time.

Gunner kept trying to steal glances at her between their dad pulling him into the conversation. Mark, knowing the look on his oldest daughters face, knew better than to even attempt to get River to talk, the fact that she was making an effort to eat in front of both these unfamiliar men was good enough for him. For the moment.

"Paul, I got a question for ya," Mark finally announced, waiting for Paul to nod before continuing with the one thing that had been on his mind all night, "Did you know about them damn rookies harassin' River?"

"Dad!"

"What River?" Mark demanded, "Is there more that you're hidin' from me?"

"I'm not hidin' anythin'. I just knew that you'd freak the fuck out if ya knew that people were sayin' stuff," she countered, not really wanting to have this conversation in public.

"Then what's wrong with me askin' the man if he knew?" Mark smirked when River didn't have an answer for him, knowing he had one-upped her, "That's what I thought, so zip it unless you have something productive to add. And don't say fuck. Now, Paul did you know?"

"I've heard a bit, just recently," Paul admitted, inwardly sighing when River refused to look at him, "I don't really understand why though. She keeps to herself for the most part, she's never around other people and it was harder than pulling teeth to get her to come out with me to get something to eat."

"Y'all went out to eat?" Gunner asked, feeling River's hand tighten around his own, "Together?"

Suddenly, River pushed away from the table and ran out of the restaurant after barely whispering a small but polite 'excuse me'. Gunner sent his dad a questioning look, who only nodded in response and just like that a second red blur was seen running towards the out of the doors. Mark looked after them worried, Paul looked down at his plate trying to get understand what he'd done that time to embarrass her, and Van just looked amused.

"So, y'all want dessert?" he asked with a laugh, reaching his hand for the menu again.

But as soon as it was in his hand, the door of the restaurant slammed open and all three men turned their attention back to it. Gunner stood there with a pale but unreadable look on his face. Mark got to his feet, the others might not understand what that face meant but he did. It was River, something was wrong, and Mark was outside in a flash, much faster than should have been legal for his size. When he got there, he saw her crouching down with her hair now pulled up on her head and she was coughing. River's shoulders were shaking, though it wasn't cold, and they didn't show any sign of stopping.

"River," he called softly, but was answered by the sound of her retching into the bushes in front of her. This was a new one; she hadn't tried it before at least not to his knowledge. Mark bent down next to her, feeling Gunner on her other side, and rubbed her back softly. "Darlin', please don't do this."

"I'm sorry, Daddy," she whispered her voice broken, "I tried so hard, Daddy. And I was doin' so good. We were eatin' all the time, almost every night, and we'd talk, and I didn't even think about it. I wasn't even bothered by it then. It was like, nothin' was wrong with me-"

"River, nothin' is wrong with you," Gunner argued.

"Then why do I do this to myself?" she cried, "Why can't I be normal?"

"Normal is relative. No one is normal, and you are amazin'," he assured her.

"Who's we?" Mark asked, wanting to get to the bottom of what was really wrong.

"It doesn't matter anymore, Daddy. That's what I was tryin' to say. They don't care, I did somethin' wrong or I wasn't enough or, see this is why I hate my mind. I keep goin' back to that damn onion ring. I ate a damn onion ring that last night, and I haven't talked to them since then. Daddy," River broke off, her voice giving out after she was so taken over by her emotions.

"River, is this the first time you've thrown up like this?" Mark asked, "Please tell me the truth."

"Yes, but I haven't eaten anythin' since Thursday," she admitted, suddenly feeling so disappointed in herself. She'd been doing so well.

"Is it him?" Gunner asked; waiting for River to look him in the eyes so that she could understand who exactly he thought 'him' was. He watched her eyes fill up with tears and close quickly before they spilled over.

"Yeah, it's him," she answered before turning her jade eyes to her dad, "I think I wanna go home for a while."

* * *

><p><em><strong><strong>_**Thank you for all of your reviews, and I really appreciate all of your words and I love seeing all of the views as well!  
><strong>

_**Bingobaby: **I really wanted to show Paul and River's feelings for each other and their confusion over the distance they've both placed on themselves. I hope you liked this chapter!_

_**SandraSmit19: **It is a possibility that that happens in the next few chapters! (: And yes, they definitely have some romancing to do!_

_**kbelle720: **Well, I didn't want to just assume you'd be interested! Here is the html address, I hope it works: **.net/s/7730125/1/I_Came_Here_To_Win** . I actually think I couldn't figure out how to link it up. Sorry! But winner, winner, chicken dinner in this chapter! Hope you like it!  
><em>


	8. Chapter 8

**Part 8**

Her eyes filled up with tears as she remembered the last conversation she had with him. She could still hear the last thing he'd said to her and the pain she felt when he'd said it still throbbing her body. He hadn't meant to be cruel, at least that's what all the messages he left on her phone said. None of his messages took away the sting.

"_River, just go back to work," Mark said, throwing his hands up in frustration._

_He was leaning against the counter in his kitchen watching as she sat at the kitchen table. Her arms were folded on the table and she had her head leaning on them. To say she was tired was an understatement, River was exhausted. She hadn't been getting very much sleep and her dad had been hounding her about everything._

"_Mark, I don't think this is exactly the way to go about this," Michelle warned._

"_She's been home for a week and she can't just stay here because of some guy. Life doesn't revolve around some guy," he stated firmly._

"_Then ya shouldn't have brought him in my life, Dad. I was doin' just fine without him," River said, though it was slightly muffled._

"_Damn it, darlin'. I can't handle ya by myself, especially when you're town hoppin' and I'm here all the time-"_

_River pushed away from the table, not only moving the chair she was sitting in back but moving the table forward too, and glared at her father. "No one asked you to handle me. I'm a fuckin' adult and I can handle my damn self."_

"_River-"_

"_No, Michelle. If he wants me gone, then I'll go. I'll be gone in the morning so he won't have to deal with me and all the stress I put on his perfect life," she spat._

"_I didn't say I want you gone, River. Stop blowin' this out of proportion. We both know that you've got a good routine for yourself on the road, so go back and get yourself together. Ya know that I'd give anythin' for you to be here all the time but-"_

"_But you got me in this business. Now I'm in it and you're complainin' about it," River laughed un-humorously," You are so much like her it's unbelievable."_

"_How the hell am I like her?" Mark practically growled as River walked out of the kitchen._

_She turned around with tears in her eyes and shrugged, "She couldn't handle me either."_

Trying to push the memory out of her mind, River focused on tying the apron around the mat. It'd been two weeks since she had talked to him and she was beginning to feel more alone than ever. She wasn't doing very well as far was a social life was concerned, but she was surprising herself by how well she was doing when it came to her anorexia.

Eating wasn't much of an issue; it was as if she wanted to eat just to show her dad that she could handle herself. Even when no one else could. She was proving that the only person she needed was herself and it wasn't proving to be too difficult. It was a mental challenge and suddenly it felt like everyone who was once around her had been weighing her down. Now that she was alone, she could breath and heal herself. It was nice.

"Oh. My. God," a voice yelled from behind her, "Is that River Avery Cal-"

"Don't even think about sayin' it!"

"Calls haven't been returned in a while?" the person finished questioningly.

River turned around and smiled. She'd recognized the voice when he first yelled. Zacharias Miller was a guy she'd met at the rehab place her mom had sent her to. He'd been struggling with anorexia as well and had been a great help to her. His blue eyes shined underneath his long, curly brown hair and she laughed loudly as he picked her up and spun her around.

"Zacharias, what in the world are you doin' here?" River asked, not able to hide the excitement in her voice.

"I'm workin' here now. I'm the new lead photographer," he answered with a smirk.

"Well, shit son. Why didn't you call and tell me you'd be headin' out this way?"

"River, do you know how many times I've called you only to get your voicemail? I'm beginnin' to think ya don't like me anymore darlin'," Zacharias drawled, his ever present smirk on his face.

"You know that's not true," River smiled, "You'll always be my number one. I've just been-"

"Hey, Avery, we're done for now," a crew member informed her as the rest headed up the ramp.

She waved before sighing, "Busy."

"I see that," he answered, "How've you been? Other than busy?"

"Recently, I've been real good," she told him as she hopped up onto the ring and climbed through, sitting in the middle, "Lonely, and quiet, but I'm dealin' with it."

"Why lonely? You ain't got friends?"

"Baby, I don't trust anyone here. There are not very many people who know my last name, almost everyone thinks its Avery. My dad and 'Chelle and all their friends are gone or on RAW, so naturally I don't see much of them. My mom hates me and my dad is on his way there. I'm basically one big fucked up mess and I have to put the pieces together myself," River replied with a shrug.

"You say that like it's no big deal," Zacharias shook his head, "I don't understand it. And your dad doesn't hate you. He loves you a freakin' ton, he just doesn't understand what you're goin' through. He doesn't know how to-"

"Have you talked to him?" River asked suddenly, glaring when he wouldn't look her in the eye, "Zacharias David Miller, have you talked to my dad?" She jumped to her feet when he nodded, "When?"

"Just before I came out here to talk to you," he admitted softly.

"Is he here?" she all but yelled, blinking back tears.

"River, he's worried about you-"

"Did he get you this job?" When he hung his head, she climbed out of the ring as fast as she could, "Why would you do this?"

"You haven't been answerin' your phone. When he called and said you haven't been talkin' to him either, darlin' it scared me. He said you had a round before ya left and ya left before he could even say good bye," Zacharias countered, following her up the ramp and behind the curtain.

"He didn't want me there. He told me to go, so I left. You don't get it, Zach," she yelled suddenly, turning around so that she was facing him.

"Then explain it to me."

"He told me the same thing she did when she sent me away. He said the same thing she did when I got back from that damn place. She sent me to him and now he's sendin' me off to anyone he can think of. First it was Paul, now it's you?" River said, lowering her voice.

"I'm not sendin' ya off to anyone," Mark said from behind her.

"Oh, I get it. This was a set up. What's next? The wicked bitch from the south gonna show up too?" River rolled her eyes, "What the fuck are you starin' at Murdoch?"

"I always thought you were the wicked bitch from the south," George shrugged, "My mistake."

Mark growled at the man before picking his daughter up, throwing her over his shoulder, and walking to his dressing room. He ignored her fighting until she came close to kneeing him in the face, then his hand come down sharply on her backside. It was her one warning, if she started fighting again he'd spank her harder and River knew it.

"Shut the fuck up, Zacharias," River glared when he started snickering at her.

"River, I swear to the high heavens, if you don't quite usin' that mouth, I'll whip your ass like I did when you were younger," Mark warned, as he opened the door to Paul Wight's locker room and dropped her to her feet.

"Whatever," she muttered unbelievingly before looking around, "You have got to be fuckin' jokin' me."

She wasn't prepared to be pulled back over her dad's shoulder. And when he finally set her down her backside felt like it was on fire. She glared at him and made towards the door only to find that Paul had already stepped in front of it.

"You're not leavin' until we talk to you, River," Mark drawled from behind her.

"Y'all can talk, can't promise I'm gonna listen."

"River, they're worried about you," Michelle said, taking her by the hand and leading her towards the couch.

"There's no reason to be worried. I'm just fine," River snapped, "And what is he doin' here? Do y'all not understand what personal business is?"

"I went to your dad," Paul admitted, "I was worried because of everything Murdoch has been-"

"And it's not your business what Murdoch has been doin'. Just like it's not his business what Murdoch's been doin'. It's not even my business what he's been doin'. He'll do whatever he wants to do, I have no pull over him," River told them.

"It doesn't bother you? What they say about you?' the women she'd been pointedly ignoring asked.

River sighed when Mark repeated the question, knowing she couldn't necessarily blow him off, "Not anymore. I just started ignorin' it and eventually I stopped hearin' it. I don't care what they say about me because I know it isn't true."

"Ya taught her somethin'," Paul said, looking at the woman who was an older, fuller, and blonde version of River.

"She didn't teach me shit."

"River, I'm not gonna warn you again-"

"What? Are you gonna argue with me and say she did? What'd she do for me Dad?" River demanded, "She sent me away because she couldn't deal with my shit. It was too stressful on her 'newfound relationship'. So what does that tell you Paul? Because it tells me, that getting dick was more important than her own daughter's health. Such a great thing to teach an 18 year old."

"What was wrong with your health?"

* * *

><p><em><em>**I would like to thank these lovely people for reviewing and reading! You are the best!  
><strong>

_**SandraSmit19: **Nothing to the rookies, yet. I'm not sure, that might be in the works though (:_

_**Bingobaby: **I'm so glad you're enjoying it!_

_**kbelle720: **That is probably the worst feeling, ever.  
><em>


	9. Chapter 9

**Part 9**

"Is this supposed to be some type of fuc- freakin' intervention?" River asked, pointedly ignoring Paul's question, "Because, seriously, in these past two weeks I've been better than you'd imagine."

"You have? How?" Mark raised an eyebrow, "Explain how."

"I eat every day. Sometimes I'll eat three times a day-"

"Have you kept it all down?" he interrupted.

"That was one time! And the circumstances were a bit different," River argued, "I haven't weighed myself and I haven't let the trainers do it either."

"Which is what worries me, River," Jodi cut in, "You say that you're eating but is anyone seeing you eat? You say you haven't weighed yourself but has anyone been around to prove it? That's how it started."

River turned to Zacharias, "Is she really going there? She doesn't even know how it fuc- sorry, freakin' started."

"Will someone please explain to me what is going on? What is wrong with your health?" Paul asked again. All eyes turned to River; they knew she was the only person who could tell him. It was her disorder and she would only tell people she was comfortable with knowing.

"Why did you get Zacharias a job?" she asked as she turned towards Mark, again ignoring Paul.

"I wanted someone here that you knew, someone who understood. You need friends around here, darlin'. Paul and some of the other boys said ya totally stopped talkin' to all of 'em. I figured it'd do ya some good to have someone who was on your side," Mark explained.

"Well that was a dumb idea," she stated bluntly.

"Thanks, River. I feel so loved over here."

River rolled her eyes and went on, "Did you even think about that fact that he is recoverin' just as much as I am? God, with him here, it's goin' to be impossible to keep from competin' with him. We'll try to see who can lose weight first and who can do it the fastest-"

"Actually, I've been doin' really well for the past two years. I needed to get away from the people who were tellin' me I wasn't okay," Zacharias said to the suddenly quiet room.

"And that's what I'm doin'. If y'all will just leave me alone for a while-"

"We're not goin' to leave you alone!" Mark shouted.

"Why not? You had no problem doin' it when ya wanted me outta your house. She's had no problem doin' it for the past four years. I'm alone on the road anyway. I have a routine here. I need my routine here. It's all I know right now and if y'all try comin' in here and actin' like a hero it'll fuck up everythin' I've worked so hard for since I got out of the damned religious rehab facility she sent me to-"

"River that's enough. You're not gonna disrespect your mamma like that," Mark said sternly.

"Respect is earned," River scoffed, "Isn't that what y'all drilled into me and Gunner? Or does that only apply to y'all respectin' us? 'Cause as far as I was concerned, I had the utmost respect for her until the day she threw me out her house and didn't look back. I was the fuck up child and she couldn't handle me."

"You didn't respect yourself, River," Jodi countered, "You still don't respect yourself. We taught you better than that, your father and I. We brought you up to be proud of who you were and what you had. We didn't teach you to throw it all away by not eating anything and working out so much that you passed out and had to be rushed to the damn hospital because no one knew what was wrong with you."

The room stood silent for a good minute before River spoke, with tears in her eyes and a shaky voice, "I have a psychological and biological disorder called _anorexia nervosa_. It's an eatin' disorder and basically it makes countin' calories and carbohydrates and food, in general an obsessive compulsion. I have an irrational fear of eatin', gainin' weight, and not losin' weight. It's not somethin' I have very much control over, no matter how much I've tried."

Slowly she turned to look at Paul, "When I was 17, a few months before I was goin' to graduate high school, I told my mom that I'd already eaten dinner with some friends. I'd had an early mornin' track practice, a full day of school with a gym class, and an afternoon track practice. I lied about eatin'. She got on my case about how I'd gone out to eat, fast food, just about every night that week. I remember her sayin' somethin' about gainin' weight in places I wouldn't want it and thinkin' that if she knew she wouldn't be eggin' me on. She basically gave me permission to keep goin' that night, at least in my head it seemed that way.

"I passed out that night. I was walkin' down the stairs to watch a movie with my brother and just collapsed," River shook her head and ran a hand through her red hair, "I don't remember much about the hospital, but I remember Sara bringin' Chasey and Gracie and them sayin' that they hoped I felt better. I tried to promise myself then that I'd fix myself and put myself back together. But that stupid rehab facility didn't help."

"That place was a living hell," Zacharias added, "They were horrible to us there."

"That's where Zach and I meet," she explained, "He's the only person I still talk to from there. The only person I really talked to when I was there. The people in charge, nurses or orderlies or whatever, if we didn't eat they'd shove the food all over our faces. Just spread it on and make us wear it all day. That place didn't help, if anythin' they made it worse. When I got out, I kept thinkin' everyone was gonna shove food on my face if I didn't eat it.

"Jodi called up my dad when I graduated high school and um, told him she couldn't handle me anymore. Told him he needed to deal with me," River sniffed, the tears falling silently down her face, "I was technically an adult but I had to be watched like a little kid. It was like bein' on a suicide watch for an eatin' disorder. Sara and Dad were just getting' the divorce finalized, so I kind of got lost in that mess. He talked to Vince and got me a job as part of the crew so that I could be around.

"It didn't really help much. People started talkin', just like they do know, 'cause I knew so many of the guys in the back but I was still so new. Even back then no one knew I was a Calaway-"

"What do they think your name is then?" Jodi asked, slightly shocked.

"Everyone calls her Avery. They think it's her last name," Michelle told her, knowing no one else in the room was going to speak to the women, "Hell, I didn't even know she was Mark's daughter until we were dating for almost a year."

"Then what happened? When you came here? I don't even remember seeing you around," Paul said, ignoring everyone else around them, his eyes never leaving River's and hers never leaving his.

"Life went on," she shrugged, "just I had people here all the time. I wasn't so alone. When the divorce was finalized, Dad was on the road more and we basically lived around here. Believe it or not, this is the first time I've seen Jodi in four years. It's the first time I've even talked to her in four years.

"Then when the older guys started stayin' home more with their families, I started bein' more alone on the road. I didn't have anyone to go home to. But I didn't have anyone here for me either. I just fell back into it, I started not eating again. It's just this fear and I can't explain it enough for you to understand, but I just feel like I'm not good enough if I am a certain weight. If I gain weight, I feel like, I don't even know, it's just being alone on the road has an influence in it as well. If I was small enough I wouldn't be alone anymore. If I was the perfect weight, people would want to be around. It's irrational and I know that, even when I'm doin' it to myself I know it's wrong. I just can't stop it," River explained.

"It doesn't make sense because their brains aren't wired the same way ours are," Zacharias said soothingly

"Why did we have to get the fucked up brains?" River asked, turning to look at him, "Why do we have to be the screw ups? Why can't I be proud of who I am and what I have?"

Mark glared at Jodi, "Do you see what you do? The impression you leave on her? You need to think before you fuckin' speak because the things you tell her stick in her brain like a fly in a spider's web."

"So what do we do?" Paul asked, wanting nothing more than to help, "What can we do to make sure you get better?"

* * *

><p><strong>Oh sweet baby Jesus. I was going to wait until tomorrow night to post this, just because I have so much homework and what not to do for my class tomorrow, but since RAW was so delicious to me, I decided to give you this as a happy present!<strong>

**_SandraSmit19:_ **I don't honestly think Mark was in the right by spanking her, I just think he felt that was the only way to get through to her at that moment. And, do not worry about rants, I love reading them!

_**BaileyRyderOrton:**_I'm glad you liked it, I absolutely love using cliffhangers. Even, though I'm not a fan of others using them. Too much suspense!

_**kbelle720:**_Yes, ma'am, intervention! I am always happy when you are excited about this! Haha, that means you'll keep reading! Though, I have to admit, the next chapter (at least I think that's the one) is pretty technical when it comes to dealing with anorexia, so it might be slightly blah.

_**Bingobaby:**_I figured throwing her mom into the scheme would take people for a loop. And yes, that was exactly what you got out of the end, Jodi is her mother and did show up for the intervention. How do you feel now that Paul knows the truth?

**If you haven't seen RAW yet, then I wont spoil it for you, but just know that it made this girl very, very happy. And I screamed. Almost as loud as I did when Kane returned! (:**


	10. Chapter 10

**Part 10**

"Okay, so I've been doing a lot of research and I've found some pretty interesting stuff," Paul started nervously as he joined River on his bus.

"When did you have time to do research? I've been with you every day for the past week and I haven't seen you do anythin' 'cept tweet, or whatever it's called," River laughed.

"Yeah, I tell you I'm on twitter. But I've been researching. And I just sweet talked that waitress into printing all of this for me," he smiled, holding up a rather thick packet of paper, "Strange thoughts may have entered her mind when she saw the subject in question, but I just shrugged when she gave me a funny look."

"Paul, you really don't have to do this," River stated, for probably the seven hundredth time since the 'intervention' of sorts.

"But I want to," he stressed as he sat down on the couch next to her, "You're going to get better, River."

She sighed, hoping he wasn't going to give up on her like everyone else seemed to have, "So, lay it on me. What have you found out?"

"Well, one website says that we need to get you up to a healthy weight for your age and height. You being 5 foot, 11 your target weight to height ratio is 156," Paul explained with his nose buried in his papers.

"One hundred fifty six pounds?" River choked, "Paul, I don't know about this."

"I know. The low weight to height ratio is 135 pounds. If you fall anywhere between those two numbers, you're in the clear. We just need you to be healthy," Paul impressed, "Do you know where you're at right now?"

"Nope," she stated proudly, shaking her head, "I'm afraid that if I get on a scale, I'll get addicted to it again. That's why I try to stay away from Larry's office. Even if it is in my contract, per my dad and Vince's orders, he doesn't really know what he's doin'. He doesn't know how to help."

"Okay, we'll deal with that later. A good and healthy way to gain weight is through muscle. If we put more muscle on your body, it'll give you the small results that you want but also the weight results that I want. Oh, and we'll need to stop at Walgreen's or something like that to pick up some zinc supplements. It says that a nutrition plan can lead to good results as well. So we'll set one of those up for you soon, too," Paul went on to read over more of his research.

"Okay, no offense Paul, but you're not exactly a nutritionist. I mean, isn't that somethin' professionals are supposed to do?" she asked, rubbing her temples.

"Well, I was going to ask Dodd. He'd help in a heartbeat and you know it. He could also hook you up with a kick ass work out plan-"

"Don't get me wrong, I really appreciate everythin' you're doin', Paul. But first of all, I don't want a ton of people to know about this whole thing. It's just kind of personal and it was a really big deal to even let you in. And, secondly, I really don't think I can afford to pay Dodd. I'm just a lowly ring crew leader," River interrupted his speak.

"Then I'll pay for it. And you don't have to worry about Dodd; he's not going to tell anyone. No one has to know about anything," Paul assured her, taking her hand in his much larger ones, "I'm not giving up on you, River. No matter what it takes, if I have to buy out a whole continent worth of zinc supplements then I will."

"What are the supplements for?" she asked.

"It helps increase weight gain," he explained, "Okay, but before you go into a panic attack on me with all this weight talk, let's discuss what else you'll be doing. Medication."

"What kind of medication?" River asked hesitantly.

"Okay, now don't freak out when I tell you this, because you won't be taking it for the exact use it was made," Paul started.

"Paul, what kind of medication is it?" she demanded.

"It's an antipsychotic, generally used to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. But it also increases metabolism and research has shown that it reduces obsessional thoughts. I don't exactly understand how it works, which is probably why I'm not a doctor, but it's worth a shot right?" he explained.

"So, I won't be so afraid to eat? It won't be so hard to take a bite?" she replied.

"According to the research on the medicine and other peoples results, no. It's proven to be quite effective."

"I guess I can try it then," she told him with a nervous smile.

"Okay, and finally when you've gained a healthy bit of weight and your thoughts are less obsessional, there is one more thing," Paul said, "Therapy-"

"No. I don't want to go back to a rehab thing," she stated firmly.

"It doesn't have to be rehab. It can be any kind of therapy. You can go to a counselor and do some kind of cognitive behavior therapy which is basically where you talk about your anorexia and your struggles with it, if I understand it correctly," Paul said, again looking over his own research, "This here says something about group therapy as well as individualized therapy. Then there is family therapy, which could be really effective in your situation. I know you don't want to talk to your mom, about anything, but it might help to bring her in so that she can start to understand."

"She doesn't deserve to understand," River growled.

"Oh, look," Paul said shoving his stack of papers in Rivers face, "This says that yoga has shown to reduce eating disorder symptoms after each session. We'll have to let Dodd know about that, if he doesn't already. I'm gonna go call him; let him know he's gained himself a new client. Sit tight and chit chat with Van. He gets lonely up at the front of the bus by himself."

* * *

><p><em><strong><strong>_**I'm excited for SmackDown. 'Taker's return will be the death of me. Having both Kane and 'Taker back, oh lord I might have a heart attack! I'm very excited to see what his storyline will be, obviously WMXXVIII. Definitely rooting for 20-0! And then probably a retiring match. Which I will def cry, but I'll deal. (:  
><strong>

_**SandraSmit19: **_Yes, she can be around him! And that makes me happy too!

_**kbelle720:**_Oh my gosh! I was so excited, 'Taker is probably my most favorite wrestler, like ever! All during the Rumble I was crossing my fingers for him to show up and was pretty bummed when it didn't happen. Monday night though, jeesh, I was totally set for this week being a total downer because I had/have so much homework and studying but I'm still riding my 'high' from his return! HAHA! It was perfect! And, definitely going into detail, as I did in this chapter, was important to me just because it needs to get out there. A lot of people think it's a choice, and it isn't. I never CHOOSE to starve myself, and it definitely bothers me when people ask questions, like 'Why did you do that to yourself?' because it's not something I wanted to do. Ah, sorry for the rant, haha. I'm glad you enjoyed it!

___**BaileyRyderOrton:**_I'm glad you liked it, I just PM'd you. I would love to hear suggestions!

_**Bingobaby:**_I totally agree, I thought it was time for Paul to learn. I didn't want to drag it out any longer than I already did. 'Taker is my love, if he weren't married I'd totally make a pass at him! Even though he's definitely old enough to be my dad! Kind of, he's like 25ish years older than me, he's still gorg in his old age!


	11. Chapter 11

**Part 11**

As Paul moved towards the back of the bus, River made her way up to where Van sat. She had to admit, she would probably get lonely too if she had to drive that big old bus. Even though they really hadn't spent very much time together, River felt some sort of connection with Van. He was a kind man and he joked around with her, where most people were more serious than she'd like.

"Knock, knock," she said softly, "Can I join you?"

"Of course you can. Sit on down, Princess," Van answered with a smile on his face, calling her by the nickname he'd taken a liking to for the past week, "What's the boss man doing?"

"Callin' his trainer. Paul wants to see if Dodd can take me on as well, help me gain muscle and work out without over doing myself," River explained, "He said somethin' about a nutrition plan too."

Van nodded, "What did he make you eat today?"

"I had that cheeseburger soup," River said with a knowing laugh. This was a discussion she'd had with Van every day and for some reason it always made her feel better. Usually it made her nervous to talk about what she ate, she was always so self-conscious about it but something about Van put her at ease. "It was surprisingly good, too."

"Well, that's good to hear," he told her, "Now, I have to ask, are you one of those Twilight obsessed kinda girls? Because my granddaughter is obsessed with Edward Cullen and she made me sit down and watch one of them movies. I have to tell ya, if you plan on staying with us on the bus, Twilight is gonna be off limits."

"But Van," she whined playfully, "can I at least bring my books?"

He opened his mouth to argue but was cut off by her cell phone ringing. River pulled it out of her pocket and simply stared at it. She hadn't really talked to any of them since what she had deemed 'the intervention' and she wasn't sure if she was ready too, either. Then again, it wasn't as if they had called her or made any effort to be in contact with her. Zacharias had told her that Mark called him, just to check in and see how things were going with River but he hadn't called her. Until now.

"Answer it, River," Paul said, suddenly standing behind her seat, "He's trying now, don't push him away. Let him in; tell him what we found out."

She nodded and tapped the pad of her thumb against the touch screen before bringing it up to her ear, "Hello?"

"Hey River," answered the voice of Michelle.

River sighed but tried to not let it affect her as she sent Paul a look, "Hey 'Chelle. Why are you callin' from Dad's phone?"

"Mine broke. Someone smashed it, accidentally," Michelle said hesitantly.

"What? How does someone smash a phone accidentally? Unless someone was drunk," River said, moving from the passenger seat of the bus to the more comfortable couch.

"Oh, no one was drunk. Someone was very upset and thought they were throwing their own phone," Michelle explained, "So, I'm getting a new one in a few days. I just wanted to see how you were doin'. I'm sorry that we kinda ambushed you last week; we were worried after not hearing from you for so long. Then Paul told us you weren't talkin' to anyone and even Randy called me and-"

"Wait, Randy? As in Randy Orton? I'm gonna punch him because I was talkin' to him. He was the only person I was talkin' to," River admitted, "We had that house show in St. Charles and he made me stay at his house. Of course, that started some stuff with the guys in the back. But he said Sam was begging to see me. What did he say?"

"Well, sweetie, I was getting to that before you interrupted me," Michelle teased, "He just said that you were overly quiet, especially towards the guys you normally talk to. He told me that a couple times it felt like you were avoiding someone but he wasn't sure who it was. He was just worried about you; he's not your usual go-to guy so he knew something was up."

"He is such a snitch," River muttered under her breath.

"But you never answered my question," Michelle said, interrupting whatever else River was going to say, "How are you doin'?"

"Honestly, I'm doin' really well. Paul has been helpin' me a lot and he actually just told me that he's been researchin' all week for treatment stuff. We just went over a lot of stuff that I can do that might help," River told her.

"Really? That's so great, River! I'm really glad to hear that. Listen, I've got to get goin' but I'll call you when I get my new phone. Alright?"

"Oh, um, yeah. I guess that's good. I'll talk to you later," River said sadly.

"Bye."

She heard the light click of Michelle hanging up the phone and turned her face to look out the window. Tears stung her eyes as she tried to push the bad thoughts out of her head. With a tight grip on her phone, she rested her elbow on the back of the couch and used her fist to hit her forehead. River tried to tell herself that they did care, if they didn't then they wouldn't have staged the intervention. But sometimes it felt like the only time they cared was when she was sick. If she wasn't hurting herself, she wasn't important anymore. The oldest child was always the screw up, and River personified that to a T.

"River?" Paul asked softly, bringing her back to reality.

"It wasn't him. It was Michelle," River told him without looking away from the window. She seemed to be mesmerized by way everything flew by so quickly, it made her focus more on the trees and hills in the distance rather than her own life.

"And?" he pressed.

"She couldn't talk long," she said and Paul nodded, waiting for her to figure out what she was feeling. "I don't think I want to answer my phone for a while, unless it's for work. Or my brother and sisters."

"Do you really think that's a good idea?" Paul asked, "Keeping your dad out of your healing process? From what I can tell, you've always been so close. I don't know what that would do more, help you or hurt you."

"He's keepin' himself out. I wanted to talk to him so bad, just now. I wanted to tell him everythin' you told me, even if I could have to 'Chelle and she would have told him, I would have been happy. But she didn't even ask what it was. She just said it was good to hear but then she had to go. Sometimes, I feel like they only care when I- never mind. It's stupid," River shook her head and dropped her phone to the couch.

"No, it's not stupid. What were you going to say?"

"I feel like they only care when I'm not eatin'. Then when I do, it's like I'm not important any more. I don't know how to explain it so that it will make sense to you because it doesn't make sense to me. In my head, I know the things I think are irrational. My self-conscious habits don't make any sense and I can't figure it out," she told him, "I don't understand why you even want to figure it out."

"Because I care, River. You're a good kid and you don't give yourself enough credit," Paul said, trying to comfort her. The only response he got from her was a nod.

_I'm just a kid to him,_ River thought, _why did I think I'd ever be more?_

* * *

><p><em><strong>SandraSmit:<strong> _That is the exact reason I wrote him that way, to show that he cared for her!

_**Bingobaby:**_I'm glad you liked it!


	12. Chapter 12

**Part 12**

Paul was confused. He couldn't wrap his head around River's sudden distance, especially considering it seemed like she was only distancing herself from him. She had cozied up to Van just fine, even creating little inside jokes that they both liked to point out to him whenever he asked what they were laughing at. He didn't understand it, he was working so hard to help her and it felt as if she were pushing him away.

Mark had called her two more times, at least the calls came from his phone, since the day Michelle called. River had refused to answer, so the phone would sit on the counter and both Paul and River would stare at it willing it to stop ringing. Whoever called never bothered to leave a message and just that pushed River further into her silence. It got to the point that she wouldn't even pick up the phone when Gunner called. She told Paul that it felt the same way it had when she talked to Michelle. He only truly cared if she was hurting herself and that wasn't fair to her. River didn't want to hear whatever it was in their voices that told her she wasn't as important to them anymore.

She was most happy when Sara had Gracie and Chasey call. The excitement they had just to talk to their older sister. It was obvious that they looked up to her and Paul could tell that meant the world to River. To have someone who thought that she held the world in the palm of her hand, when she felt like she had no control over herself at all, gave her hope that she could get through anything.

The playing of '_Walls'_ by All Time Low throughout the bus brought Paul out of his thoughts as he pushed himself up from his bed. He'd offered it to River when she first started travelling with him but she'd refused and opted for the couch that turned into a bed instead. When he walked out to the main part of the bus, River was all smiles.

"You did what?" River asked as she tapped the touchscreen, putting it on speaker phone.

"_I lost a tooth, River!"_ came an excited voice of a young girl.

And even though Paul hadn't been able to differentiate which sister it was, River always could, "Gracie, that's awesome! How many does that make?"

"_I don't remember," _the little girl huffed, "_It's a lot though._"

"Are you gonna put it under your pillow tonight for the Tooth fairy?" River pressed.

"_Well, I wanna. But we're goin' to Daddy's house right now. Will the Tooth fairy know where I am?" _the little girl asked the worry obvious in her voice.

"The tooth fairy is like Santa Claus, even when you aren't where you're supposed to be she'll find you," River assured her.

"_Promise?"_

"Pinky promise."

"_River, Chasey wants to know when we can see you. We miss you," _Gracie said suddenly.

She looked up at Paul with a torn expression on her face, "I don't know sweetie. I work a lot and I don't have much time off to come home."

"_Do you work where Daddy used to work? Mommy said that Daddy used to be gone all the time but now he's home more and we get to see him more. Did you get to see him when you were a kid?"_ Gracie asked.

"Yeah, I work where Daddy used to work. But I didn't get to see him very much when I was a kid. He was gone a lot for work and my mom worked in Texas so she couldn't bring me and Gunner on the road with Daddy, so we stayed home with her-"

"_Why don't we have the same Mommy?"_ Gracie asked

"_Gracie, we've had this discussion before,"_ Sara could be heard saying.

"Well, when Daddy and my mom got married and had me and Gunner, they thought they were in love. But with Daddy on the road all the time, they realized that they didn't really love each other so much. To be married you really have to love someone. When Daddy met your mommy, they fell in love and had Chasey and you. But sometimes people fall out of love and it's nothin' that you or Chasey did, so I don't want you to go blamin' yourself. Sometimes bein' in love just isn't enough especially when Daddy was on the road as much as he was," River gently explained to the slightly confused six-year-old.

"_Does Daddy still love me even though he is on the road?"_

"Of course he does. See, since we are a part of him, Daddy has this alarm inside of him. He knows when somethin' is wrong with us and he feels when we are worried and he always knows just what to say to make us feel better. And you bein' his baby makes it even better, but us girls are his princesses. He can't say 'no' to us. He loves you and Chasey and Gunner more than anythin' in this world and nothin' will change that," River told her.

"_Promise?"_

"Pinky promise."

"_Okay, Mommy wants to talk to you now. And she's gettin' not patient. I love you, sister,"_ Gracie cooed through the phone.

"I love you too, sister. I'll talk to you again soon. Be sure to let me know how much that Tooth fairy gave you at Daddy's house," River smiled.

"_Okay, bye, River. Here's Mommy."_

"_Hey, hun,"_ Sara said, it was impossible to miss the smile in her voice, "_Thank you for talking to her, she is smiling up a storm over here._"

"Oh, it's not a problem Sara. You know how much I love those girls. I'd do anythin' for them," River assured her.

"_I know, it just means a lot to me. We weren't sure how you were going to react when you were younger, what with you being his baby girl and all. I didn't want you thinking I was trying to replace you with them,"_ Sara said quietly.

"We've had this conversation before. I was so happy when you told me you were pregnant, and even more so when I found out you were havin' girls. Don't get me wrong, I love Gunner but he's so much like Daddy that bein' around the girls whenever we actually got time to spend with you all was like a vacation," River laughed.

"_Speaking of your dad,"_ Sara started.

"Must we?"

"_He mentioned that y'all haven't talked since he blindsided you with your mom a few weeks ago. He said that he tried to call you a couple times but you haven't answered. Last time, he heard from you Paul Wight was doing some research on something,"_ Sara finished, acting like she hadn't heard River's comment.

"He hasn't heard from me since the stupid intervention. Which, by the way, at the time of the intervention I was doin' pretty damn well. The only reason he knows about Paul's research is because 'Chelle called me," River informed her before muttering, "Not that she bothered to ask what the research was about or even how I was really doin'."

"_Is there a reason you aren't answering his calls?"_ Sara asked.

"He's called twice since Michelle called from his phone. I answered then because I was excited to tell him about all of the things Paul found out that would help me. When I heard Michelle, I just felt like-"

"_Like he let you down. Yeah, I get it, sweetie. He told me what he said to you, before you went back to work,"_ Sara admitted.

"I think that hurt even more. He said the same thing my mom did and he didn't even think twice about it. He didn't even blink an eye," River whispered, sinking into Paul's side as he sat down beside her on the couch.

"_God, I wish I could keep talking right now. I'm just pulling into your dad's driveway and-"_

"_Daddy!"_

"_-he's standing outside in the driveway. And knowing him, he's going to ask who I'm talking to and then he'll either steal the phone from me or he'll get angry with both of us."_

"Call me later? I'm sure the girls will spill the beans anyway, so he'll be pissed at me because I'm answering for you and not him," River sighed as she hung up the phone and looked over at Paul, "Thank you."

He looked down at her, a slightly shocked expression on his face, "For what?"

"For being here for me. For helping me out. I know I'm not the easiest person to deal with a lot of the time, but you keep trying when everyone else has given up," River said, swallowing the sudden lump that lodged itself in her throat.

Paul held her closer and placed a kiss on the top of her head, "You're a good person, River. And you mean a lot to me, you've become a really good friend to me. You're gonna get through this; I don't care what it takes. You can do anything you set your mind to, you just need to let yourself do it."

* * *

><p><em><strong>SandraSmit19:<strong>_More Paul and River in the next chapter! (:

_**Bingobaby:**_I definitely went for emotional in that chapter, I just thought it would get the meaning out better!

_**kbelle720:**_Right! I hate being called kid. It's my least favorite thing ever!


	13. Chapter 13

**Part 13**

River's phone ringing made them jump apart and she looked up at him sheepishly before turning back to the sudden distraction. A slight confused look made its way to her face as she answered it.

"That didn't take long. I figured the girls would keep you there longer," River said as a greeting.

"_River Avery Calaway, explain to me what the hell is goin' on,"_ she heard the growl of what sounded like an angry Texan, "_I've been tryin' ta get a hold of you for weeks and you won't answer. Now your sisters show up rantin' and ravin' 'bout how you talk to 'em all the time and ya just got off the phone with their momma. I don't know what you're thinkin' right now but I don't think I like it, little girl."_

The force in his voice shocked River into a momentary silence. And by the time she'd gotten her voice back, Mark was starting up again. This time he had a whole new rant.

"_I thought that by sendin' ya on to Paul, it would help ya. He'd look after ya and make sure you were eatin' just right and doin' everythin' by the book. Apparently he isn't doin' that, I think I might just have to bring ya on home. Maybe you'll do yourself better if you're around somethin' more stable and familiar,"_ the man said with a sigh.

"No," River was able to spit out, "You can't do that."

"_Darlin' I got you into that company and I can get you out just as fast,"_ Mark threatened.

"Daddy, please. You say you've been tryin' to get a hold of me for weeks; you've only called me twice. You haven't even left any messages. And when 'Chelle called, God, I wanted it to be you so bad. Paul had just printed off a whole mess of stuff-"

River stopped suddenly. It had finally occurred to her that while no one in her family had even bothered to do any kind of research on her disorder, Paul had. While no one had tried to truly help her, Paul had. She looked up at him, guilt seeping into her heart for ever pushing herself away from him when all he'd ever really done was try to help her.

"What's wrong?" he asked softly, not wanting to interrupt her conversation with her dad.

"Why'd you do it?"

"_Do what? I didn't do anythin', River. You ain't makin' any sense,"_ Mark said through the phone that she hadn't bothered to pull away from her mouth.

"All the research?" Paul double checked, just to make sure they were on the same page and smiled when she nodded, "Like I was saying before your phone rang, you mean a lot to me and I care about you. I hate to see you wasting away to nothing right before my eyes. I knew that there was something we could do, we just had to look for it."

River closed her eyes in an effort to will the tears that had sprung up at his words away, "No one else tried. No one else could handle it."

"_Handle what? Damn it, River. What the hell are you talkin' about?"_

"They just didn't know how, they didn't understand-"

"They didn't take the time. They didn't want to-"

"They didn't know how," Paul repeated, "They didn't know where to start. They all thought that if you ate, you'd get better. They didn't know that there was more to it. They didn't know all of the obsession that goes along with it."

"How did you?" she asked, her words barely a whisper but he heard them.

"_How did I what?" _And apparently Mark did too.

"Shut up, old man. Private conversation," River snapped into the phone before hanging it up, then looking at it in shock, "I didn't mean to do that."

"You can call him back later," Paul assured her, "And I did a lot of research. That first week, I barely slept. Ask Van, he was always making fun of me because if I wasn't on my phone then I was on the laptop. I wanted to know everything I could about it."

"Why?"

"Because I want to know everything I can about you," he answered as if it were the simplest thing in the world.

Taking a step towards him, River hoped she looked braver than she felt. She knew that if she didn't take the chance now, while she had at least half the courage, she never would. And with every step she took, the butterflies in her stomach grew until she was directly in front of him.

"Why?" she asked again, needing the assurance and hoping he gave her the answer she was looking for. If he didn't then all of this getting close to him just now was for nothing, and he'd think she was a total freak.

"Because I think I'm starting to fall in love with you."

That was it. She was thankful he was sitting down as she took his face gently in her hands and inched hers closer. The shock was evident in his eyes but just before their lips met, River's phone rang again. Paul reached up quickly, before River could even react, and grabbed a hold of the back of her neck, letting her forehead rest against his.

"Please don't push me away," he whispered, "I don't think I could handle that, not after this."

"I won't," she said.

"Promise?"

River smiled slightly, "Pinky promise. Don't tell Gracie we just did that, she'll get jealous."

"I wouldn't dream of it," Paul laughed, "Go answer your phone before your dad has a stroke or something."

She stole a quick kiss before pushing away from him, smiling the whole way toward her phone. Nothing could kill her mood. The man she'd fallen in love with just for trying so hard to get her to go out to eat with him, was falling in love with her too. Nothing else mattered to her in that moment, he was hers and she was his. They had each other and had proven that they were all they really needed.

"I'm sorry, Daddy. I didn't mean to hang up the phone like that. Paul and I were tryin' to talk and-"

"_I've had enough of this immature, childish bullshit, River. I'm callin' Vince and askin' to have him put you on leave, an undetermined leave. If this is the way you're goin' to treat me after everythin' I've done for you, I don't even know why I bother anymore,"_ Mark ranted.

"Daddy, I am almost 22 years old. You can't dictate my life anymore. You can't just call Vince and have him send me home, it's not right. What if Grandpa had done that to you? And after everythin' you've done for me? Name one thing you've done for me in the past two weeks. You don't even know how I'm doin'. Sometimes it feels like you don't even care.

"That day that 'Chelle called, I was goin' to tell her about all the research that Paul did. I was goin' to tell her about how he found things that could help me. I was so excited, more so when I thought it was you callin' me. I wanted to tell you everythin' he'd just told me. But I couldn't. Do you want to know why?" she asked.

"_Why? Why couldn't you tell us?"_

"Because you didn't call me, Daddy. You didn't bother to call me until two weeks after that stupid intervention you staged. Which, by the way, I can't even believe you would bring that stupid bi-"

"_Watch your mouth, River Avery,"_ Mark warned.

"I ain't got a mirror. I can't. I can't believe you brought that stupid bitch; you call my mother, with you. And on top of that, you honestly aren't any better than she is. She couldn't handle me because she had to focus that stupid boyfriend of hers that lasted maybe a month longer. And by the way, she still blames me for that. But, why couldn't you handle me, Dad? Was I really that bad that you had to practically throw me out the door?" River asked.

"_It wasn't like that, River. I couldn't handle the mopin' around. You were so depressed and I hate to see ya like that. Whoever done upset ya, if I knew who did it I would of whipped them there on the spot,"_ Mark told her.

"Stop tryin' to be the big hero, Dad. It's too late. You should have done something years ago. Did you know that yoga helps with the food obsession?" she asked before hanging up the phone one final time.

* * *

><p><strong>I should have had this posted sooner, but a lot has happened in the past week. <strong>

_**SandraSmit19:**_ I wanted to have Sara seem nice. A lot of fics I've read have shown her as the bad guy and I didn't want that to be the case for this story. And even more River and Paul for you! (:

_**Bingobaby:**_I'm glad that you liked it! Thanks for the review, and I'm sorry it took longer than usual for me to post this!

_**BaileyRyderOrton:**_Thanks! I'm glad you think so!

_**kbelle720:**_The girls remind me of my nieces too, I kind of wrote them in ways that my nieces would or have acted with me. It's fun!

**Thanks for the reviews, I'm glad to see that you guys are still liking this story. And again, I'm sorry that it wasn't up sooner. A close friend of mine lost her baby daughter this week, so I've been dealing with a lot of emotional stress. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter, and have a great weekend! Stay safe!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Part 14**

It only took Paul two days to realize that being in a relationship with River Calaway was difficult. She was a difficult person to just be friends with because of all the walls she built around herself, the relationship they were trying to start was going to be ten times harder. On the third day, River had given him the option to walk away with no feelings lost or gained. Paul hadn't taken that option, telling her she was worth the time and energy. He'd told her that all relationships take work and theirs would be no different.

They were still learning about each other, but that didn't keep the smile from River's face. She felt as if someone finally wanted her and at some points it was too good to be true. When those moments hit her, she was usually alone or surrounded by people who didn't know her at all. And while she knew it was part of her disorder, River didn't want to blame every self-conscious thought she had on her disorder. She knew that every person had insecurities; it was a normal human reaction. River just tended to have those insecurities worse than others.

As River sat on a crate in a random hallway, in an arena she couldn't name, in another town she really didn't have to name because she didn't even drive, she went through the reasons Paul had given for being with her. He'd told her what a great person she was, that she had a great heart, and a unique personality. He had assured her that, even with her disorder, she was beautiful no matter her size. Paul had told her on many occasions that he thought she was too small. She'd laughed once; telling him that compared to him any 22 year old would be small. Paul had seen that as progress.

River squealed as she was picked up off the crate and twirled in the air. Being that it was Raw, and she didn't have any work to do, she hadn't been paying any attention to who was around her. Her boss, Tim, had given her the night off from SmackDown and told her to go watch Raw. He'd told her to go have fun. This, being spun around on the broad shoulder of a random-she was guessing-wrestler, could be counted as fun.

"Avery!" said a slightly lisped voice as the person put her down.

River looked up into the eyes of an extremely painted face. A face that was painted black and gold, a face that made her smile brightly. She hadn't seen Dustin in years, it seemed, and here he was standing in front of her. He picked her up again, this time in a tight hug which she returned just as hard.

"Dustin, what are you doin' here?" she gasped, slightly breathless as he let her go.

"I'm presenting an award," Dustin Runnels said with a roll of his eyes.

"Award?" River asked.

"The Slammy Awards are tonight," Dustin explained further.

"Are they really? I really need to pay more attention to what goes on 'round here," River laughed, "How's Milena? And baby girl?"

"Milena's doing well. She's around here somewhere. And baby girl is good, getting ready to graduate here soon. It's hard to believe she's 17 already. How's your family doing? How's life on the road without your dad?" he asked.

River sighed, "It was hard at first. I missed my dad a lot, and everyone else. I'm not really talkin' to my family right now though. It's kinda a long story that I don't want to explain, it's pretty personal, but from what Sara tells me when the girls call to talk to me, they're doing good."

"So that's why your dad didn't say much about you when they came over for dinner the other week," Dustin mused, "I was wondering. He usually has so much to say. It's always 'River did this' or 'River said that'. It actually gets annoying sometimes. But now it makes sense, ya'll aren't talking so he doesn't know how you are doing."

"Yeah, it's been-" River stopped to take a deep breath, "difficult. We used to talk every day. And we'd see each other once a week, granted it wasn't in person only over a computer, but I at least got to see his face. Now I'm lucky if he even tries to call."

"Ya know, phones work both ways," he joked.

River shook her head, "Like I said, it's a long story."

"So who have you been hanging out with?"

"I've been travelling with Paul for a few weeks now. It's a lot easier for me and we've gotten really close," River told him, nodding to Paul as he passed by on his way to the ring.

"Really? And just how close are we talking?" he asked, noticing the smile on her face.

"Close enough and we're happy."

**XXX**

A few hours later and River was actually paying attention to the main event match of Raw. She was sitting with Paul, on the same crate she'd been sitting on all night, and he'd reluctantly gone to find a working monitor. Mark Henry was not her favorite person, in or out of the ring. River didn't see him as talented and while he might be large, that's really all he had going for him. So, in other words, River was bored, but it was hard to not keep her eyes glued to the screen as Paul would continuously say things like 'Oh, did you see that?' or 'Ouch that had to hurt!'

And then River's brows furrowed, Paul's eyes locked on her face distinctly memorizing her emotions. He knew that she was confused as she saw the smoke emerge near the tunnel. Then her eyes went to alarm.

"Did the pyro crew do somethin' wrong?" she asked quietly but quickly, her eyes flitting up to Paul but jumped back to the screen as the next pyro went off and the arena went completely black. "What's goin' on?"

"Keep watching," Paul prompted a smile in his voice.

The lights went back on and as a masked Kane stood at the top, River let out loud squeal. She jumped off the crate and moved closer to the monitor to get a better look at the man who was like an uncle to her. Glancing back at Paul, she questioned if it was really him. Paul only laughed in response before taking her hand in his much larger one and guiding her quickly to the guerilla entrance. They watched on another monitor as Mark came towards them first, leaving a fallen Cena in the ring with an angry Kane standing over him, and waited for the two men to join them in the back.

As soon as Kane stepped away from the cameras, River jumped onto him with such force that he stumbled back slightly. He was out of character as soon as he slipped his arms around her and started laughing at the young girl's excitement.

"River Avery!" he laughed, "it's been a minute, darlin'. But you're lookin' good."

"Why didn't you tell me you was comin' back? We coulda made some plans to go out," River complained.

"We can still go out. We can grab a bite to eat, talk about what's been goin' on since July. I thought I'd see you for Thanksgivin' but you weren't there. Didn't even get a phone call from you, little girl," Glenn said taking a step back but keep an arm wrapped around her shoulders.

"I've got plans tonight-"

"Actually, I didn't tell you but our plans include Glenn," Paul interrupted, as the two reached him again, "Van has the bus all fired up and ready to go as soon as you're ready."

River looked up at Paul, her eyes shining with a smile on her face. She couldn't believe that he'd set all this up, he'd done all of this to surprise her. There was so much he'd done for her, just to show her that he really cared about her. She hated that she hadn't done anything for him, but she was determined to find something.

* * *

><p><strong>I'm sorry, again, guys. It has been a really, really long and emotionally exhausting week. Thank you for being so patient with me though. It's very helpful for me!<strong>

**_SandraSmit19:_**Yes, they are together! Finally! And sorry, no Mark in this chapter. However, as a teaser, next chapter there is a whole section just for Mark!

_**Bingobaby:**_I'm glad you liked it! Thank you for the wishes for my friend, it's getting better.

_**kbelle720:**_Thank you for the prayers, they are definitely helpful. And yes, that last chapter was a big smile jerker for me as well. When I was writing it, I couldn't help but smile and laugh a bit at myself!


	15. Chapter 15

**Part 15**

River laughed loudly as Paul lifted her off her feet, holding her around her waist from behind. It was another late Monday night for them, waiting for whatever the next day held. As they embraced, in the bus, she couldn't remember a time when she'd truly felt happier. She loved him; it was as plain and simple as that.

"Stop it!" she laughed as he blew raspberry kisses on the side of her neck, "If Glenn comes in here and sees you, he'll freak out."

"I'm not afraid of him," Paul responded, blowing another kiss on her neck which only made River laugh harder than before.

"Maybe not me, but are you afraid of her dad?" Glenn's voice came from behind them. Paul groaned as he set River back down on her feet and released her from his hold. "I thought so."

"Be nice," River chided before hugging her substitute uncle. In all honesty, she couldn't remember many years without the man. He was always a strong role model in her life.

"So, before I walked in on you two, what were you talkin' about for dinner?" Glenn asked, "I'm starved."

"We hadn't exactly gotten that far," Paul told him.

"Oh, I see. Y'all have a one track mind."

"While we were on the subject of my dad," River interrupted, "Did y'all know he was goin' to Lesnar's UFC fight? And if y'all did, why didn't you try talkin' him out of it?"

"I didn't know," Paul said, "I haven't had much conversation with Mark in a bit."

"Glenn?"

"He might have mentioned it-"

"And you didn't think to say somethin' along the lines of 'Yeah, bro, that's prolly not such a great idea. Ya know, seein' as ya hate each other 'cause of how the idiot treated not only your daughter, but your wife at the time'?" River growled.

"Yeah, that didn't really make it into the conversation. Well at least not the piece 'bout him not goin'. He said somethin' 'bout wantin' to make a point. Somethin' how he's the better man, and all that stuff. You know you're dad, Riv, he won't listen to no one once his mind is set," Glenn responded.

"Now, hold on. I know about everything that went down with Sara and Brock, but what's this about you? Or was it one of the younger girls?" Paul asked.

River sighed, "There was this time that I came to visit my dad and Sara when they were on the road. It was durin' his feud with Lesnar and let's just say that Lesnar went past the storyline. Sara and I were in my dad's locker room, and when they weren't even filmin' for anythin' Brock just stormed in and scared the bejeezus outta me and Sara. He said some things, and my dad heard it. He basically made a move on both of us at the same time. That's why they've got this personal vendetta against one another."

Paul nodded slowly, letting her words sink in, "But he didn't lay a hand on you, right? 'Cause, I mean, if he did, I'd probably have to hurt him."

Glenn smiled at his friend's words, he could see the feelings that Paul and River shared and knew that they were for real. Though, he was not looking forward to when Mark found out what was going on between the two of them. He'd asked Paul to watch over his daughter, not date her. If the two of them kept their relationship a secret from him much longer, Glenn was afraid of the consequences.

**XXX**

"Listen, Vince, and listen closely. I will not come back if you don't do something about this. I don't know how long it's been going on, but it's going to stop and you're going to make it," the larger of the two men said.

"I wasn't even aware that something was happening between the two of them. I usually know everything that goes on with just about everyone, especially her. You know that I take special exception when it comes to her, she's like a niece to me, Mark," Vince nodded with conviction, "Why wouldn't she tell me? And why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"You know River, she doesn't like causing problems and she likes to keep a low profile. She didn't even tell me until I saw it with my own eyes, and then Glen called about a week ago to tell me it was still happening. But I'm stopping it now," Mark told him, all but threatening to quit if something did not change.

"What do you want me to do? I can't just fire him. We've been promising his return for a month and a half now. And these technically aren't grounds to terminate his contract," Vince said, trying to think of a compromise.

"Can we change his storyline? Something that is humiliating for him? I don't care what it is, I just want for him to be punished for this," Mark clenched his fists on top of the desk in between where the two men were sitting, "He has been harassing my daughter, for who knows how long, and I'm not sure who but I know that someone else, maybe even more than one other. The rookies, I know it's them, I just don't know which ones, because they don't know who she is. They see her with the older guys-"

"They just don't know how she's connected to them all," Vince nodded again, "I can see how they would come about their assumptions, but I am in no way making excuses for them. This will be dealt with. I won't have anyone bothering her, I promise."

**XXX**

"River, hey sweetheart," a husky voice called from the other side of the hallway.

Rolling her eyes, River knew immediately who it was. She'd been avoiding him, for the most part. Knowing he'd catch up to her, simply because his stride was a lot bigger than hers and he definitely walked faster than she did, River kept walking. Not bothering to turn around when he called for her again, even after walking through the curtain and down the ramp to the ring.

"River, come on!" he called for a third time, with slight amusement in his voice.

She chuckled lightly, as she picked up her pace, running and sliding into the ring. Only then did she turn around to see him stalking down to her. "What do you want, Orton? The last time we talked, you sold me out."

"Oh, don't play it like that. I didn't sell you out-"

"You called my step-mother, Randall Keith," she argued, shrieking when he slid into the ring as well and laughing when he backed her into the far corner, "And why, you might ask. Simply because I wanted to hang out with an old friend, who invited me to his house and see his daughter. Who might I add is my god daughter- No! Don't tickle me!"

Randy's fingers attacked the sides of her ribs, her most ticklish spot, and she slid down the ring post, laughing the whole way.

"Take it back!" Randy shouted, "I didn't sell you out, River. Say it!"

"No," she barely choked out over her laughter, "I can't breathe!"

"Then take it back. I'll stop if you take it back," Randy promised.

"Okay, okay! I'll take it back, you didn't sell me out!"

The two flopped onto their backs in the middle of the ring. River's breath was the only thing that could be heard, and Randy knew that all she needed was the company. He'd been in her place, he'd fought demons before. And though it was hard, he'd beaten them. Randy had full faith in Mark Calaway's oldest daughter; he had faith in her because he had been her, more or less. The oldest child of a superstar, fighting with psychological issues, and being in need of a friend in the crazy world of the WWE. She'd get there, Randy knew it.

* * *

><p><em><strong><strong>_**Erm, yeah. I'm watching SmackDown live as I write this. Oh, Drew McIntyre how I love your gorgeous face. That is about it. Haha.  
><strong>

_**BaileyRyderOrton:**__Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it!_

_**SandraSmit19: **Yes, they're together. And even moreish in this chapter!_

_**Bingobaby: **I didn't write the dinner. I was going to, but I just recently wrote this chapter and the others had been finished for a while so that train of thought was pretty much out the window. But there is still some Paul, River, Glenn time! Hope you liked it!__  
><em>


	16. Chapter 16

**Part 16**

It was another Monday night. And Tim had given her the night off again, though Paul had to do a show somewhere else. River had agreed to accompany Glenn to Raw, for some quality time together. He was like another dad to her, she looked up to him, and right now he was the only real connection to her dad. They laughed at the dumbest things, they made fun of each other easily, but they still had that underlying family bond.

The redhead really wanted to just sleep. She was getting burnt out, travelling from place to place, never any down time. Though she had been able to go home with Paul for a weekend, and spend time with him, just the two of them. Paul, however, had a lot of media and other work related stuff to do most days, which restricted their already limited time together. He still kept her strong, though; she was working out with him often and eating regular meals with either him or Van, their bus driver.

River sighed as she leaned back on the hard chair she'd taken up residence in. It was boring backstage without anything to do. Glenn had disappeared to have his little spat with John and hadn't returned, that had been nearly an hour ago and Raw was nearing its end. She was just ready to get to the hotel and go to sleep. Sleep sounded really nice.

"Open your eyes!"

The door burst open and Glenn came in, fully dressed, and tipped River's chair slightly. He turned the volume up on the monitor before leaning against the wall just behind her. She turned, looking at him before asking, "Can we go now? You're all ready!"

"No, I want to see how this ends," Glenn answered amusement in his voice.

"That's easy, Triple H says 'You're fired' in Vince McMahon's tone of voice. Everybody cheers and then goes home," River sighed again, "Please!"

"Just watch. I don't think it'll be that predictable. I mean, wouldn't it be so cool if someone interrupted them?" he suggested.

"That wouldn't even make sense, who would come out? I mean, who has beef with Triple H and John Laryngitis?" River asked.

"Oh, don't overthink everythin'. It could be the start to a new line-"

"Glenn," River said slowly, as if she were talking to a child who didn't quite understand, "There's this little thing called a script. Go check yours, I want to leave."

"Oh stop being such a party pooper. Shut up and watch the show. How long has it been since you have actually sat down and watched?" he asked.

"Your return. Paul made me watch that stupid match with Cena and Mark Henry. That was pure torture, almost as bad as-" Suddenly a bell tolled from the monitor and River whipped around so that she was facing it. Now she could see that all of the lights had been turned off, then a light purple hue took over the arena. River could see John Laurinaitis making is way out of the ring and Triple H was staring up the ramp. "Is he back?"

"We thought you'd want to see it-"

"You knew?" she countered, turning back around to look at Glenn, "You knew and you didn't tell me?"

"River, we didn't think you'd want to know. You still aren't talkin' to him and he doesn't know about you and Paul," Glenn shook his head, "I didn't know how to bring it up to you."

"So you thought showin' me like this was goin' to make it all better? If I had known he was comin' back then I wouldn't have been here tonight," River admitted.

"I know. But you and I never get to hang out. I never get to catch up with you, you're always with Paul," Glenn said.

"I love him," she told him quietly, "He's helped me in so many ways. He makes me feel special and he cares about me and he isn't goin' to be scared off by my dad."

"Then why won't you tell your dad about him? I know how important he is to you. I've seen you with him, why won't you share that with your dad?" Glenn sighed, not understand River's train of thought.

"Every time somethin' doesn't go his way, he threatens to send me home. I don't want to go home-"

"River, you're a grown adult. Your daddy doesn't run your life anymore," Glenn told her.

"Yeah, try tellin' him that."

**XXX**

"Where's my girl?" he grunted, barely through the curtain.

Paul Levesque shook his head, "Don't you think you should take a breath?"

Mark continued to shrug out of the jacket while the hair and makeup women worked on his hat and wig. Glaring at the younger man, he rolled his head on his shoulders, "Is she here or not?"

"Last I heard, she was with Glenn is his locker room," Paul started as Mark walked away, "I don't know if she stayed there though."

"Why wouldn't she?"

The question was left unanswered as the two quickly walked through the emptying hallways of the arena. Mark was too worried; he'd gotten updates from just about everyone, telling him that River was doing just fine. Glenn had said she'd gained weight, she looked healthy again. Mark was more excited and nervous, River had been angry with him the last time they'd talked. And with good reason too.

When he reached the door, he could hear arguing from the inside. From what he could hear, they hadn't told her he'd be returning. That hadn't been his idea. Mark wasn't stupid; he knew his daughter wouldn't be pleased if they'd kept something like this from her. But her reasoning, again from what he heard, about her being angry and something about Paul, that wasn't the truth. Mark knew the real reason.

"Darlin'?"

River turned as the door opened, her dad standing in the doorway. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"You weren't answerin' my phone calls-"

"You could have left a message!" she yelled, her voice reverberating off the walls of the nearly empty locker room.

"Would you have called me back?"

"I would have stopped you from comin' back. Daddy, I don't want you in the ring anymore," River said quietly.

"I'll be fine, darlin'. I'm not gonna get hurt-"

"You said that last time, too. What happened last time?" she asked, raising her voice again, "Tell me what happened."

"Don't yell at me, little girl-"

"I'm not a little girl, anymore. I'm an adult and I think I should get some say in the fact that you could get really hurt," River said, "We worry about you and you have to think about how it affects us. Me and Gunner, Chasey and Gracie. If you think we don't get scared when we see you fall, literally to your face when you're trying to get out of the ring, then you're wrong. It scares the hell out of us. And that's not fair."

"Oh, so it's fair for you to scare the hell out of your mother and me, but if I do my job then I'm the bad guy. That makes a lot of sense," Mark argued.

River took a step back, all the breath leaving her. Mark must have sensed that he'd said the wrong thing, but it was too late now. It was out in the open. He'd made it seem like it was a choice for River to harm herself, like she wanted to. That was the farthest thing from the truth, she hated starving herself, but it wasn't something she had control over in the past.

"I think it's time to leave," River said, turning away from her dad to look at Glenn, "I've gotta get to the hotel before Paul and Van do, Van said he'd leave me behind."

The two gathered up their things, leaving Mark and Paul Levesque to watch them. "Wait, why are Paul and Van pickin' you up?"

With one last look at him before walking out of the room, River said, "Because Paul and I are datin' and I've been travelin' with him for almost three months."

* * *

><p><strong>I am so so so so sorry it's taken me so long to finally post this. I've been super busy with school and well that's about it, but hopefully I'm back! Thanks so much for being patient with me!<strong>

_**Bingobaby: **I'm glad you enjoyed it! I didn't put in here exactly what Vince did, but I just kind of figured it would be the whole 'Funkasarous' storyline, which I personally actually like. I'm not normally a fan of Brodus Clay, but I like the song! However, I do want to write something, in the future, about how he reacts to being put in such a storyline. _

_**SandraSmit19: **Yes, Funkasarous! Haha! I'm glad you liked it!  
><em>


	17. Chapter 17

**Well, howdy y'all. It's been a minute since I've been here. I can't say how fast I'll be updating, or even what I'll be updating, or even if I'll be putting together something new. Because I don't really know. But I do know that writing this felt pretty darn good. And I've had some stuff going through my head lately, so hopefully I'll be back for good. **

**Thank you so much for the support you've given me while I've been away. I've read reviews and messages that you've left and I am very thankful for all of you. You are all so awesome!**

**I hope you like the continuation of In A Hopeless Place with River! Have a great day!**

* * *

><p><strong>Part 17<strong>

Two years had gone by so fast.

The match between her dad and Hunter hadn't been nearly as bad as the first one had been. And the amazing show of camaraderie the three had shown at the end of the match was probably the best part of their careers.

There wasn't much change in her relationship with her dad, though. They spoke when they were in the same vicinity as each other, but didn't really make an effort to call each other. Even when Brock came back.

She'd never forget the day she saw him again.

"_I knew you'd be here." She opened her eyes to see him standing over her as she lie in the ring. "It's after hours, you thought you wouldn't be bothered, that no one would come down here this time of night. But I'm guessing they didn't tell you about my return. They didn't want to upset you, again."_

"_What are you doing here? What do you want?" she asked, making her way to her feet. She did not want to be in the same room with him, much less the same ring._

"_You know what I want, River. As for what I'm doing here, well, I'm pretty sure that your precious daddy does it every year. It's called a comeback."_

"_You're joking right? There is no way they are going to let you-"_

"_I'm already back, babe. I've got storylines set up for the next year," he said with a smirk. "And don't ignore me. You know what I want."_

"_And the answer is no. It was no back then, it's no right now, and it'll be no for forever." She couldn't believe the audacity of it all._

"_You may have said no back then, but we both know you wanted everything that happened between us. And I can see it in your eyes that you want it now."_

_River actually laughed at that, "Sorry to burst your invisible bubble, Brock. I'm actually seeing someone right now. And if you do to me now what you did back then, I will tell everyone. They all thought it happened back then, they just didn't have any proof and I was too stupid to tell them. But I won't hold back this time. I will not let you do that to me again."_

"_Obviously you've forgotten how much fun we had. And the pictures I took." That made River stop in her tracks as she went to get out of the ring. "Yeah, I still have those pictures, babe. So you know what you're going to do, right? Because if you don't then I will show them to everyone."_

"_You're married, though," she barely whispered._

"_That's why we aren't going to tell anyone, just like last time."_

And two days later she'd been forced to break up with Paul. It broke her heart and everyone could see that. They asked why she'd done it, if it was obviously causing her so much pain, but she couldn't ever give them a straight answer. No one could find out what Brock had done, they'd hate her more than they already did.

**XXX**

"Hey, Ste, wait up a minute," Paul called as he saw Stephen Farrelly walking to a locker room.

Stephen looked around, joining Paul in the middle because he knew what he wanted to talk about. River. She barely talked to anyone, but Stephen had managed to gain her trust. They didn't speak about anything much more than the weather or someone's storyline, but she ate and she smiled when he would go on tangents about absolutely nothing just trying to start a conversation. He was glad that they hadn't gone on that date he'd wanted so badly in the beginning because this was what he was meant to do in her life. He was meant to be her friend, to help her through whatever demons were affecting her life at this time.

"How's she doing?" Paul asked quietly

"She tries to put on a good face. I just wish I could get to the bottom of what is truly going on with her. She's just so secretive. She gets these text messages and phone calls and they visibly upset her and then she has to leave. I can never talk her into staying, or telling me who calls. It's obviously someone who works here, or at least it seems that way to me," Stephen told him.

"Do you think Murdoch is messing with her again?"

"No, I'm pretty sure he's learned his lesson, as popular as it is, he hates being the Funkasaurus. And he wasn't ever quiet about his feelings for her. He just openly bashed her. Whoever is doing this isn't doing it publicly, so I'm guessing that he has something on her that neither of them want anyone to see. I'm working on it, Paul, but there's not much I can do when she refuses to ask for help."

**XXX**

"Well, Corporate Kane. Lookin' pretty good in a suit, Uncle Glen."

Glen chuckled, "Better than The Devil's Favorite Demon? Because I wore that for years."

"Yeah, it was startin' to smell. The suit looks better," River teased.

"Hey now, don't hurt that ol' man's feelin's River. You know he's a sensitive one," Mark added, making River laugh for the first time in what felt like forever.

She started to make another joke at Glen's expense when her phone went off, signaling a text message from the one person she couldn't ignore. And she knew what it meant, and she hated what it meant. And more than anything she wished it had never gone off because it had just ruined the moment she'd been having.

"Wait, before you go, did you hear who Paul is going against at the Rumble?" Glen asked, receiving a look from Mark that was not condoning the turn in conversation.

"No offense, but I don't really want-"

"It's Brock. It was Brock's idea. He said he had some kind of beef with Paul," he interrupted.


	18. Chapter 18

**Alrighty, I am actually surprised that I've gotten this chapter up as fast as I did. I got stuck on the ending a bit, but I think I pulled it around. Let me know what you think! And again, thank you for sticking around! You guys are the best!**

**Part 18**

She stormed into the room where she knew he was waiting. The anger she felt rising with each and every breath she took. And he just sat there smiling. He sat on the couch in the stupid hotel room smiling at her as if he were genuinely happy to see her.

"What the fuck are you playin' at, Brock? How dare you challenge him? What are you thinkin'? I thought you didn't want anyone findin' out either, I thought you wanted to protect your marriage!" She started hitting him as hard as she could, wherever she could reach. "Why couldn't you just leave it alone? You've got what you wanted, leave Paul alone."

He encircled her small wrists with his hands, laughing at her anger. "Because I don't have what I want, River. And this just proves it to me. I don't just want your body, I want your heart, mind, and soul-"

"And you think this is the way to get it? You will never have my heart, you will never have my mind, and you sure as hell will never have my soul. Now get your fuckin' hands off me. I'm done with this. I won't do it anymore. I don't care what you do, but I won't deal with you and the crap you're doin' to me now."

He tightened his hands around her wrists, "Do you really think it'll be that easy for you to walk away from me? That I'll just let you go? You aren't going anywhere until I tell you that you're allowed to."

He took both of her wrists in one hand, being so large that they still encircled her wrists. He squeezed them tightly as he moved closer to her, pressing her against the closed door to the bathroom. His free hand reached down and unbuttoned the jeans she was wearing.

"Brock don't do this, please," she begged. "You have to let me go, Brock. Please let me go."

When he didn't, going even further and taking her jeans off altogether, she started to scream. And he silenced her with a large right hand.

**XXX**

Randy's phone rang in the middle of the game. He'd given everyone who would've called him specific instruction to not call him. He and John were catching up, swapping alimony stories, and watching the football game. One look at his phone though, he knew something had to be wrong.

"Avery?" he answered, "What's going on?"

"_Randy, I need your help_," her voice sounded weak, almost scared. "_I need you to come get me. I need to get to my dad, but I think I might need to go to the hospital first_."

"Slow down, River, where are you?"

"_I- um, I'm not exactly sure. I was in the hotel, but I somehow got outside. I think I might be out in back. It's kind of dark out here though_," she told him.

"Alright, you just sit tight, sweetheart. I'll be right there. I'm bringing a friend with me-"

"_Randy, I don't care who you bring, I'm just in a lot of pain. Please hurry._"

"Man, we gotta go. I think River is in trouble," Randy told John, grabbing his wallet and car keys. "Now, John."

The two men quickly left the room and took the stairway to the main floor of the hotel. In the lobby, there were a few of their coworkers, but they didn't have time to stop and chat. Randy ran outside, with John right behind him.

"Where is she, Randy?"

"I don't know, she said she thought she was out back. River!" he called, "River, where are you?"

They ran around to the back of the hotel, but it was pitch black. "River," John yelled, "It's me and Randy. Where you at?"

"John?" A weak voice sounded, "Randy? I can't see anything."

Randy switched on a flashlight from his phone and they turned to see her sitting against the hotel. Her head was down and her hair was covering her face, but she looked like she was in pain. She had her arms wrapped around her abdomen and she was shivering, almost violently.

"River, what happened to you?" Randy asked, running to her side. She gasped in pain when he went to grab one of her arms

"I- um, I think my arm is broken. I really just want my dad, please," she begged.

Randy gently pushed her hair away from her face and felt his blood pressure rising. Her face was swollen, her lip was bleeding, and it looked like her nose was broken too. Who in the hell would hurt someone so brutally? Who in the hell would hurt River Avery Calaway?

"John we need to get her to a hospital."

**XXX**

John and Randy sat in the waiting room, they weren't allowed back in the emergency room since they weren't next of kin. Stupid hospital rules. Randy and River had practically grown up together, if that's not family, he didn't know what was.

"Did you call her dad?" Randy asked quietly, "He should've been here by now."

"He's on his way Rand. He was about to get on the plane to go back home. He said that he needed to get his bags and everything situated-"

"His daughter is in the fuckin' hospital, I'd think that would be his first priority. Damn it, what the fuck is goin' on right now?"

"She is my first priority, Orton. But there's others that needed to know that their sister and daughter was in the hospital. And I needed to get a room for 'Chelle because we didn't want Kaia to be in the hospital," Mark said as he finally got to the waiting room. He'd already been back to the room they had River in. "She's got a broken arm, nose, cheekbone, and collar bone. She's severely bruised and she's got a ton of abrasions. And after I went to check on my daughter these stupid fuckin' people made me fill out insurance paperwork. Now, the two of you are gonna tell me what the hell happened to my little girl and you're gonna do it now."


	19. Chapter 19

**I've actually been working on this all week. Which is why it hasn't been updated until now. I get two days off each week, so in those two days I'm gonna be trying to update then. On the days I work, I've actually been hand writing everything because I can't bring my computer to work. But, I'll try my hardest to get something to y'all within the next week. **

**Thank you so much for the support y'all have given, I appreciate it more than you know! Enjoy!**

* * *

><p><span><strong>Part 19<strong>

To the both of them the white walls of River's hospital room felt suffocating. It was too quiet as Mark sat in the chair that seemed much too small for his large frame. River's bed was leaned back letting her stare at the spot where the wall meets the ceiling and she could feel his eyes on her It felt like he was shooting rays of fire at all of the injuries he could see, she felt like all of the visible marks, breaks, and bruises were burning. The little bit of pain medicine she'd agreed to take took a bit of the edge off, but it didn't make the pain go away completely.

"Are we gonna talk about this?" His question came out of the blue, after nearly two hours of neither one wanting to start the conversation. The doctors wanted to keep her overnight, just to monitor all of her injuries and to make sure nothing else was wrong with her. Mark sent Randy and John back to the hotel, it was after visiting hour and selfishly he wanted to spend as much time alone with her as he could. But the silence was killing him. " 'Cause quite frankly darlin' I'm feelin' murderous."

"Honestly, Daddy right now I wanna try to sleep some. You should go on home and-"

"Damn it, River Avery. I'm not leavin' ya here alone. I'm not leaving ya ta fend fer yerself. Not again. You're hurt, you're in the hospital, and ya shouldn't be left alone." Mark was angry. Did she really think he'd feel comfortable leaving her by herself?

River sighed, giving in. "Just not tonight. I'll talk about it after I get some rest. Maybe we could ask 'em ta bring a bed in for ya, I don't want ya sleepin' in that chair-"

"Darlin' I'm not gonna be sleepin' much. I'm more worried about you than anythin' else. So close yer eyes, let the pain medicine work like it's supposed to. Ya shoulda let 'em give ya more, but you're a stubborn one."

"And I get that from my ol' man. Word around the street is that he's just as stubborn as I am," River joked. It felt good to have a smile on her face, and to see on her dad's too. He had just looked too somber for too long. "You'll be here when I wake up, right? I don't really want you to leave me, not tonight Daddy."

"Of course I'll be here, darlin'. I wouldn't leave, even if ya asked me to. You're my baby girl, River, I'll always be around when ya need me. And a lot of times when you don't."

She finally let her eyes close, reaching her good arm out and catching his. She needed to borrow some of his strength to get through this. And she was hoping to give him some willpower, to not kill Brock Lesnar. "I love you, Daddy."

"I love you too, River Avery." Those were the last words she heard before she feel into a dreamless sleep.

**XXX**

Paul was walking back to his room with breakfast the next morning when he thought he saw Michelle walking out of a room too. But that was impossible, because Mark said they were heading back to Texas the night before. But, no, that is definitely 'Chelle.

"I thought y'all were going back to Austin last night," he said by way of greeting.

"We were actually, we were at the airport when Mark got a call. He, uh, had to go to the hospital. I'm actually on my way up there now, Lay is watching Kaia for us," Michelle explained.

"Who's in the hospital? I mean, who would y'all know here that would be in the hospital? Is Mark okay? Is Glenn- no I just saw him. 'Chelle what's going on?"

"I don't really know all the details, but, uh, it's River. Someone's beat her up real bad. She's got some broken bones, a lot of bruises. Mark was pretty worried, he said that she's doin' fine. She slept through the night and when I just talked to him she was still sleepin'. I'm just goin' up there to see if I can get Mark anythin', he's refusin' to leave her side, but he'll need some food, so that's where I come in," she told him.

Paul just stared at her, stunned. Who in the world would wanna hurt River Avery Calaway? Who could have had her on their shit list? She didn't have a mean bone in her body, unless it came down to her mom. She didn't talk to many people, so who would do this? "Who? I'm coming with you, just let me get this to my room and tell Bess-"

"Paul I don't think now is the time to get back on speaking terms with River. I mean, you're back with your wife and so far you've hidden it pretty well from River, but showing up at her hospital room isn't going to go well with anyone," she warned.

"Now hold on, she broke up with me. Just because we aren't dating and haven't been for two years doesn't mean I don't care about her. She meant a lot to me, Michelle."

"She may have meant a lot to you then, but you mean a lot to her still. Can't you see that? She's reverted back to that girl who refuses to talk to anyone she works with, the girl that pretends to not hear the things rookies say to her but cries when she's alone because she really just wants them to like her. She's back to the girl who says that she wants to be alone, but really just wants someone to prove to her that they care. If you show up at the hospital, without your wife, she'll think you're trying to be that knight in shinin' armor you were two years ago. And you can't be that guy this time."

**XXX**

Mark was tired. And that was an understatement. He was too old to be pulling all-nighters, but he'd never admit that out loud. He'd just gotten off the phone with his wife, quietly filling her in on River's condition. So far everything was fine, when the doctor came in to check on her he'd said that nothing had changed overnight, nothing had gotten worse, and that as soon as she woke up, they'd release her. The poor girl was exhausted.

A groan from the bed made him is up straighter. Her eyes were closed but her face was squinted up, it was the same face she'd made when she was younger and waking up. Mornings were her least favorite part of the day but it made him chuckle that that facial expression could bring back so many memories. He'd thought he'd missed so much of her childhood, what with work and the divorce from her mm, but he was realizing that while he missed a lot of important things, he was here for a lot of them as well. He didn't miss them all.

"How ya feelin' today, darlin'?" He asked, receiving yet another groan. This time it sounded painful. "I'm guessin' the medicine wore off. Ya just gotta push that button right there to get more."

"It doesn't do anythin' but make me feel numb. And you know how I feel about drugs of any kind," River said, sounding extremely groggy and she still hadn't opened her eyes.

"Well, they cleared you to go home, just as soon as you were feeling awake enough to," Mark told her, "And 'Chelle is on her way with some coffees and-"

"And knowin' her she's bringin' some kind of carb filled pastry because she knows that nothin' makes pain go away better than food that is really, really bad for you," River finished, "I could totally go for a cheese Danish right now, too."

"That is certainly good to hear. I'm not sure what all you've been doing these past couple years that's making you actually want to eat again, but I'm likin' it darlin'."

"I'm not, Daddy." Mark gave her a weird look so she took a deep breath before she continued. "I'm not likin' it. And when I tell you, you won't either, because, well it's pretty disappointin' and embarassin' and it landed me in the emergency room."

"River darlin', what in the world are you talkin' about? Someone attackin' you and beatin' you up has nothin' to do with your anorexia. I'm not disappointed in ya, I've never been disappointed in ya-"

"Don't say that, not yet. It's a really long story and I don't really know where to start-"

"Beginnin' is always best."

"Okay," she said, trying to gather up the courage to tell him, "It all started back just after you had that feud with-"

"Alright, I brought coffee and cheese Danishes," Michelle barged into the room with her hands full of drinks and behind her came Paul, "and reinforcements, just in case we needed to break you out of this joint."

And behind him came Bess.

"I- um, I was just- uh, we were-"

"Darlin' spit it out, my feud with who?" Mark asked.

"I- uh, i-i-i-it doesn't r-r-r-r-really m-m-m-mmmatter, u-u-u-u-um we c-can talk a-a-a-a-about it l-l-l-l-later, r-r-r-r-r-r-right?"

"Is everythin' okay?" Michelle asked, just by the look on her face, she could tell River was nervous. She didn't need to hear the stuttering to figure that out.

"She was about to tell me-"

"That I was r-r-r-really hungry. C-c-c-c-c-cheese Danish, I-i-i-i-I was craving th-th-them. Thanks 'Chelle," River stuttered again, though not quite as bad as before.

"River, what happened? Who did this to you?" Paul asked, feeling his wife's hand wrap around his arm.

River saw the movement and couldn't help but look away. She'd heard through the grapevine that Paul and Bess had gotten back together, and remarried. And she was happy for them, Paul looked genuinely happy each time she saw him, though she kept her distance. It was one of the rules.

"I-um, I don't really r-r-remember," River said looking at her lap. Any other time she would've twiddled her thumbs, but that was slightly impossible.

"How do you not remember who beat the crap outta ya, River?" Mark shouted. "And why are you so damn nervous? Stop with the stuttering, ya haven't done that in years."

"Daddy, can we please just drink the coffee? And I really wanna eat a Danish. Like, really, really bad."

Mark and Paul went to argue more, but Bess had other ideas. "Who are you two to stand between a women and her Danish and coffee? Michelle, hand over the coffee and I'll pass her the pastry. I say we kick the men outta here to find a doctor and we give her some girl time."

When the men tried to argue more, River sounded her opinion, "Daddy, we can finish our talk later. I promise, I'll explain it all then. But right now, girl time sounds good. I don't have friends, and I don't know many girls. And right now, I could definitely use some pampering."


	20. Chapter 20

**Here ya go, y'all. Hope you enjoy it. Bit of a shocker there at the end. Don't peak though! (;  
><strong>

**Part 20**

Her incessant giggling on the car ride from the hospital to the hotel should have tipped Mark off. He kept stealing glances at Michelle, who was obviously trying to keep from laughing herself. "What the hell did the two of ya do to her?"

His booming voice sent River into another fit of giggles and made Michelle unable to keep her laughs quiet. "I talked to the doctor about her pain medicine, told him that she'd refuse to take it but we all knew she needed it. He said that we could crush it up and put it in something for her to eat or drink. So Bess and I added it to her coffee when Paul was in the bathroom."

"Oh Lord."

Pulling up to the hotel, Mark wasn't surprised when he saw quite a few of their coworkers in the parking lot. He chanced a look in the rearview mirror at his oldest daughter. "Darlin' there's a lotta people out here, ya up to facin' 'em right now?"

"Daaaaaaaddy," she said, drawing it out with a thick, and rather whiny, southern accent, "I haveta get in my room somehow."

This sent Michelle into another bought of laughter and River followed close behind. "I might kill you for this, 'Chelle."

When he pulled the large SUV into a spot, River started trying to open her door. Unfortunately, she was attempting to use the side of her body that was broken from the collarbone to the wrist and was currently immobile.

"Daddy," she gasped, "I'm paralyzed. My arm won't work!"

"Yer not paralyzed, River. Yer arm is broken, use yer left hand to open the door," he told her before getting out and walking to her door. When he got it open for her, she was looking at her left hand as if it were something she'd never seen before, flipping it over to look at her palm and bringing it close to her face to examine the wrinkles on her knuckles. "Come on, River. It's time to get out of the car."

"But Daddy, I can't move, remember? I'm paralyzed. Half of my body doesn't work!" She was basically yelling, as if he couldn't hear her.

"Yer feet and legs are workin' just fine. It's just your right arm that isn't workin' right now."

River looked at him as if he'd grown a third head before looking down at her legs and started kicking the back of the seat in front of her. She looked up at him again and started laughing. "That's weird."

It took both Michelle and Mark to coax her out of the vehicle and to follow them into the hotel. They were going to try to sneak in through a side, stairwell entrance, but River insisted on going through the front doors, saying "But those ones are bigger, and, oooh, look Daddy, they're goin' in a circle. It's like a carousel- Oh, Daddy, can we go on a carousel ride soon?"

And then they got inside of the hotel.

It was John's bright idea to get a group of their coworkers together, to welcome River back, to show her support, to show her that there were people who had her back. Randy had told him that it probably wouldn't be received well, considering the girl had just spent the night in the freaking hospital and no one knew that The Undertaker was her father. John had explained that no one would care when they found out and that River would feel much better getting it off her chest, one less secret to hide from everyone. Randy argued that she would actually feel betrayed, and would most likely be pissed off to the max. John did it anyway.

So in the lobby sat Phil Brooks, Stephan Farrelly, Nikki and Brie Garcia, Bryan Danielson, Nattie Neidhart, and TJ Wilson. None of them really knew who this River girl was, nor what the big deal was with her. However, they knew her when she walked in, but they knew her as Avery. The girl who was on the ring crew, the girl who was always respectful even when some of the newer guys weren't so nice. So why she looked like someone had beaten the crap out of her, was something they didn't understand. Her face was bruised, her arm was in a sling, and she looked so tired.

Everyone stood when River, Michelle, and Mark entered the hotel and River just stopped in her tracks. She looked all around, trying to see what these people were staring at. Laughing when she just saw her dad and Michelle.

"Hey guys, look! It's The Undertaker!"

"Orton!" Mark roared, "What is the meanin' of this?"

Randy pointed to John. "Way to throw me under the bus, man."

"I'm confused. But tired. So I'm gonna go find my room."

She just walked away, and every one stared at John.

"Well that didn't work out the way I wanted it to."

**XXX**

"This is so dumb," River said sounding frustrated. She was wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt, her right arm was casted and in a sling that was wrapped around her midsection, keeping it immobile. "I don't even know how to get back there."

Leaning against the wall, she slowly slide down until she was sitting on the floor. River was pretty sure that she'd left her phone with Michelle, and she had no idea where her room was or even where her key card was. She kept muttering to herself, trying to focus on something other than the pattern on the carpet and how bright yet dim the hallways of the hotel were.

"Are you okay?" a deep voice brought her back to herself after she'd been tracing the lines on the floor.

She squinted slightly, looking up at the large body standing over her, "I don't know. I think my stepmom added too much espresso to the coffee she gave me this mornin'. Do you have a room key?"

"Yeah, but-"

"Does it go to a room here?"

"Yeah, but-"

"Great, bring me there," she demanded. The man stood there for a minute, staring at her. "Well, obviously I'm not standin' up by myself. A little help would be nice."

Being the gentleman he was raised to be, he automatically shot a hand out to help her stand up. He had an arm around her back, being careful of her right arm and guided her to his room. "Can I ask why I'm taking you to my room?"

"Because I can't find mine, you look vaguely familiar, and once I get a nap in me you can take me to find my dad, or my stepmom, or someone who knows who I am." She sounded absolutely serious, as if looking 'vaguely familiar' was all she needed to trust someone.

"How do I know you're not some crazy fan trying to get me to sleep with them?" he asked, as he was putting his key card into the door to unlock his room.

"Well, how do I know you're not some crazy psycho tryin' to seduce me into sleepin' with you?" she countered, "and do I really look like I'm in any position to attack you? I mean, look at me? I'm half paralyzed."

With that, she slowly climbed onto the bed that didn't look like it'd been made yet that morning, laid on her left side, facing away from him and abruptly fell asleep.

"What the hell just happened?"

When she woke up, she felt groggy. And she heard voices.

"Who is she?"

"Well if I knew the answer to that question, Colby, I wouldn't need the two of you to help me find out who she belongs to."

"What is she doing here?" this 'Colby' said.

"I found her in the hallway, sitting on the floor. She demanded that I bring her here so she could sleep and then I could bring her to someone who knew who she was. And those are her words, not mine. She was obviously on some kind of pain medicine-"

"Obviously?" a new voice said, "Have you looked at her face? She looks like she's been run over by a car!"

"She said something about being paralyzed. But she was walking just fine. Does she look familiar to either of you?" That voice belonged to the guy who helped her stand up. But she couldn't remember much after that.

"I feel like I've seen her before, but with the bruising I can't really tell." This came from that 'Colby' character again.

Just then there was a knock at the door. River heard slight murmurings but could quite make out what was being said. Until the men came back and started talking to again. She felt the bed dip down slowly in front of her and blinked her eyes open, seeing the man who had helped her stand up. He was good looking, his long dark hair was pulled back into a low ponytail at the base of his head. He was wearing a tank top shirt that showed his muscular arms, one of which was covered in tattoos and he was tanned, not spray tanned like most of the guys, but it looked natural.

"Hi," he said softly, smiling gently at her, "How was your nap?"

She tried to talk, but found her mouth was dry. Out of nowhere he handed her a bottle of cold water and she drank it greedily. "Hi."

"Are you ready to find someone who knows who you are? Or your dad or stepmom?" Was he making fun of her? The smirk on his face told her that he was and she thought really hard to figure out what he meant. She groaned when she remembered their conversation.

"I think someone drugged me," she heard chuckles from everyone in the room. "It's not funny. I told them I didn't want any medicine. I just wanted to go home and they said it was fine, that I didn't have to take any of it if I didn't want to."

"Well, Avery, I do believe you've slept it off."

"How do you know my name? Can you help me sit up? I feel other people in here," she said.

"You can feel us?" a voice said from behind her, "DO you have some kind of sixth sense?"

The man on the bed gently sat her up, moving behind her to so she could lean back against him. He didn't know why he did it and shrugged when his friends gave him weird looks, it just felt like it was the natural thing to do.

"No, I can't feel you. I was awake and heard you guys talking. And you laughed at me," she explained. "But you have me at a disadvantage."

"I'm Joe. The goof with the two-toned hair is Colby. And the grumpy looking one is Jon, don't worry about him though, he's always grumpy looking," the man behind her said. She could feel the rumble in his chest as he talked and unconsciously she burrowed back into him, feeling safe. "And we know your name because some of the women we work with were asking if we'd seen you. I told them that you were sleeping and that I'd bring you to the arena when we go tonight-"

"Wait, no! I have to be there before you guys. I have to help set up the ring and get everything ready," River said quickly, attempting to get off the bed.

Joe pulled her back onto him, "I don't know if you know this, Avery, but you're paralyzed, remember? Or at least your right arm is. There isn't anything you could do to help right now. Layla said they've given you a month or so off to heal from whatever happened to you."

River sighed. She needed to tell someone what happened. And she guessed that her newly found friends were the perfect target. "I was attacked. I was walking back to my room after hanging out with a friend and someone attacked me as I passed a hallway. I don't know who it was. When they finally stopped, they just left. No one said anything. I was in a lot of pain and I couldn't find my room so I made my way to the stairwell and it let me out in the back of the building. And then I called Randy."


	21. Chapter 21

**I got this chapter out sooner than I thought I would. So here's the next addition for ya! Let me know what you think! I think I'm gonna try to wrap this story up and see if I can work on another one. I've gotten multiple requests for a trilogy of How To Love/ Show Me How To Love. I can't guarantee anything but I'll keep it in the back of my mind.**

**I hope y'all have a great weekend!**

* * *

><p><span><strong>Part 21<strong>

"What time is it?" River asked in the small rental car that Joe, Colby, and Jon shared. She'd fallen asleep again, this time while Joe was sitting behind her. She honestly couldn't help it, he was so warm and comfy and as she came down from the pain medicine she'd been slipped she was freezing cold. And that had made them late.

"It is almost 6:30," Jon told her irritably. He was the only one angry with her. Colby and Joe both seemed to understand but Jon was a little more high strung than them.

"Shit! He's gonna kill me," River sighed.

"Who? Your old man?" Colby asked from the driver's seat. "I'd think he'd understand why you're late. I mean he is the one who lost you when you were higher than a kite."

"No, not my dad. Although, now that you mention it, he's probably gonna be pissed that I didn't call 'im. He's way overprotective," she rolled her eyes, "No, I told this friend of mine I'd give 'im a call when I got back to the hotel and escaped from the- I mean my dad. But I think my stepmom has my phone."

"First, who's this mysterious friend you keep mentioning, a boy friend?" Joe said hearing her slip up, "And you still haven't told us who your dad is. Do they work for the company, too?"

River laughed nervously. "No one knows that my friend and I are friends because he and my dad don't get along. And I don't tell people who my dad is."

"Didn't all the new guys say that you were sleeping with all of the old guys, um I mean legends, because you know so many of them?" Jon asked, intrigued. "I think George mentioned something about you when he was sent back to FCW."

"Yeah, they did. But that stopped because my dad told Vince to embarrass the hell outta Murdoch. After that, everyone kept their comments to themselves for the most part. I still hear some stuff now and then though. Are we almost to the arena?"

"If we guess who your dad is will you tell us?" Colby was a little too excited about this game. River shrugged her agreement. "Alright, he's got clout with Mr. McMahon, so my first guess is Triple H."

River actually laughed, "Definitely not. My nose is nowhere near as big as Uncle Paul's"

"Oh 'Uncle Paul'?" Jon asked, "That means Shawn Michaels."

"Nope, not Uncle Shawn either."

"I don't think he has any kids but Big Daddy Diesel?

"Eh, out of all of DX, Uncle Kevin is probably my least favorite. If I were his kid, I'd probably be even more fucked up than I already am."

"Okay, is he younger or older than Kevin Nash?"

I think my dad is younger than Uncle Kevin, but he's been wrestlin' longer than Uncle Kevin. My dad started wrestlin' before I was born."

"And you're how old?" This question came from Joe, who was sitting next to River in the back seat and genuinely curious about the girl who fell asleep in his arms, less so about her father.

"I'm 24, I'm the oldest of 5 kids. Actually I was born 2 days after my dad's birthday."

"Oh, I know!" Colby practically yelled as he pulled into the parking lot of the arena, "Your dad is Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson!"

"Colby, you're an idiot. Don't you think I'd know if she were Dwayne's daughter?" Joe laughed.

River was confused, "How would you know that?"

"Dwayne's a cousin, kind of. Our great-grandfather claimed each other as blood brothers. In Samoan culture, that's just as good, if not better, than being biologically related," Joe explained.

"Are you a Guerrero?"

"Do I look Hispanic to you, Jon?"

"I know who your dad is," Jon said. "I've seen you around the arena's with him, working out and sparring. It's Brock Lesnar, right?"

"You- you've seen Brock and I?" River gasped "Shit. Shit, shit, shit. That means my dad might've seen or heard about it. Oh shit, I'm gonna be in so much trouble."

"So, not Brock then?"

"Dude, Brock's only like 30-something. No way he's got a 24 year old daughter."

"So if it's not Lesnar that means 'Taker. He's got legit beef with Lesnar, though no one really knows why-"

River cut Jon off. "It's because of me," she admitted, not understanding why she was telling these 3 guys stuff she'd never told anyone before. "Brock wanted to train me, all those years ago, when they were feudin'. That's when B offered. I was on the road with my dad because my mom's a psycho. And he started trainin' me. My dad blew a gasket when he found out, he didn't want my anywhere near wrestlin'. Then when B returned two years ago, he started trainin' me again, but this time it was mostly just strength trainin' 'cause he knew that's what I needed. It wasn't about getting' me into the ring but more about helpin' me overcome my- um, some personal stuff I was havin' issues with."

"And it looks like your old man is waiting for you."

Jon was right. Mark was standing in the parking lot, directly in front of the entrance door. Obviously expecting that no one was sneaking in without him knowing about it, and that meant River too. She banged her head against the back of the seat as Joe, Colby and Jon got out of the car. Colby, being a gentleman, opened her door for her and held is hand out to her to help her out.

"I'm so dead," she whispered. "You guys might be too, if he sees y'all with me."

"River Avery Calaway!" Her eyes snapped to meet her father's as he stomped over to the car she'd just gotten out of.

"Dead man walking," Colby whispered in her ear, making her laugh out loud.

"You think this is funny?" Mark demanded.

"No, Daddy-"

"You think its okay to fuckin' disappear?"

"No, Daddy-"

"You think it's funny to not call yer dad, or yer stepmom, or hell, even Paul, for hours after ya got outta the hospital?"

"No, Daddy-"

"We have no fuckin' clue who beat the shit outta you, and you're nowhere to be found. We were worried sick, River Avery. Ya left yer phone with 'Chelle and I fuckin' couldn't find you. What in the Sam hell happened?" Mark was nearly yelling, the three guys were trying to sneak away from the tongue lashing River was currently receiving from her dad but he spotted them. "You three, stay."

"Daddy, I-"

"And it's not really even you I'm so fuckin' pissed at. 'Chelle and Bess got a good yellin' at too. I was so fuckin' worried about ya, darlin'," now he started pacing in front of the four of them. "I get a fuckin' call in the middle of the night that my daughter is in the emergency room. And then my wife and her ex-boyfriends wife slip some pain medication in her fuckin' coffee without tellin' anyone. Then that fuckin' Cena boy puts together a damn welcome committee that runs her off. And then she's just fuckin' gone for five hours."

His rant was making River laugh, but she was trying her hardest to hide it. That is until she looked at Joe who was standing on her left, he was smirking, but trying to hide it with his hair hanging in his face. She lost it then, and so did all three of the guys standing with her. Mark stopped pacing and stared at the group.

"Y'all think this is funny?" he roared.

Joe and Jon quickly shook their heads, trying to sober up. While his outburst only made River and Colby laugh harder.

"Daddy please, it hurts to laugh!"

"I'm not bein' funny, River Avery. I'm completely serious. This isn't a laughin' matter-"

"I'm gonna pee my pants!" River screamed, squatting down to the ground and trying to hold her stomach with her left hand. This made Joe and Jon start all over again, while Mark just stood here looking at the four of them like they'd each grown another head.

"What's gotten in to y'all?"

"Daddy, yer not even mad at me. But yer rantin' and ravin' to me like I'm gonna be able to fix it. I can't go back in time and get away from whoever attacked me. I can't go back and tell 'Chelle for the millionth time that I don't want to talk any pain medicine and hope she'll listen that time. I can't go back and tell John that his welcomin' committee wasn't a good idea, and even if I could I wouldn't wanna hurt his feelins. And I can't go back in time and fix that I got lost in a damn hotel and couldn't find my way back to you. Thankfully, Joe found me and apparently I demanded that he take me to his room so I could take a nap-"

"And then she'd let me take her to find her dad, or her stepmom, or someone who knew who she was," Joe interrupted, "And those were her exact words."

"What makes you think that you wouldn't have run into whoever beat you up? What made you think I wasn't him-" Mark pointed to Joe, "who beat the shit out of you, comin' back to get some more?"

"I wasn't thinkin' Daddy. I just wanted to take a nap. I didn't and still don't know where my phone is and I couldn't find my way back. He looked familiar and my gut instinct said I could trust him. Which is why all three of them are standin' here, knowin' that I'm your daughter while people I've worked with for years have no clue and still think my last name is Avery," River shook her head, standing up, "You can't protect me from everythin' and everyone."

"The hell I can't!" he yelled, then he calmed himself down, "What happened last night, River? You were gonna tell me, before Paul and Bess walked in to your hospital room. And you're gonna tell me now, I don't care who is standin' here."

"I was walkin' back to my room from a workout session. My trainer had pushed me pretty hard because I kind of pissed him off when I got to the gym. So I was sore and probably limpin' but out of nowhere someone just jumped me. I don't know who it was or why it happened, it just did."

Mark shook his head confused, "You said that I'd be disappointed in ya. That I wouldn't be proud that you were overcomin'-"

"Um, I- well, it's, um because,-"

"She doesn't want us knowing whatever it is that she's overcoming," Joe interrupted. "Just skip that part River."

"You'll be disappointed because of whose been trainin' me. You told me years ago, and made it apparent to him too, that he was not allowed to train me. You thought he was tryin' to seduce me or somethin' stupid like that-"

"Wait a fuckin' minute. Two years? You broke up with Paul two years ago, you've been super quiet for two years. But you've looked healthier than ever for these last two years. And that fuckin' bastard came back two years ago. River Avery you better not be tellin' me that Lesnar is yer trainer," Mark was pissed to the max.

"If she's not tellin' ya then I will." The voice came from behind Mark and when he whipped around he got his answer, "Yeah, I been training her for the past two years."


	22. Chapter 22

**Part 22**

River sighed. She'd been waiting for ten whole minute. He was never late for anything. Ever. After 5 minutes she'd started pacing, and she was still pacing when he walked in the gym. "It's about fuckin' time B."

Brock shook his head on his overly large shoulders. "Your dad is gonna kill you if he hears you swearing like that Avery."

She took in his clothing, jeans and a green polo. Not gym wear. Not his usual red basketball shorts and cut off tee. Something was up. "Are you gonna change so we can get started?"

"We're not doin' this today, Avery. We can't do this today."

"What do you mean? Why the hell can't we do this? I just waited fifteen minutes for you to get here and it's been almost a week since we've worked out. I thought you didn't give a damn if my dad knew. Why can't you train me?" To say she was upset was an understatement. She was mostly trying to keep herself from having a panic attack. These past two years of training with Brock Lesnar had been the most liberating, the most freeing, the most in control she had ever felt. And now he was just taking that away?

"Look at yourself, damn it. You're still in a fuckin' sling. It hasn't even been a fuckin' week since you've been released from the damn hospital. I can't train you when you're fuckin' broken-"

"You've been trainin' me just fine for the past two years and I've been fuckin' broken this whole time. You've seen me at my fuckin' lowest, B. When I found out that Paul and Bess were back together, when I found out that 'Chelle was pregnant, when Kaia was born, you were there through all of that. And we agreed that you would still train me. When I called you from the hospital, you agreed. What made you change your mind all of a sudden?" And now she was just pissed, and her Texan accent was even more evident.

"We'll pick it up again once your arm and collarbone are healed, but until then-"

"Where is this comin' from, B? Who is this comin' from? Have- have you been talkin' to my dad?" The guilty look on Brock's normally unreadable face told her everything she needed to know. "Oh, I get it. Y'all are friends now, huh? Did ya exchange phone numbers? What about snapchats? Do you text each other all the time now? Yer besties, right? Did he pay you to stop trainin' me? Or did you just sell out, B? Why'd you sell out on me?"

She kept distance from him, knowing that if she got close to him she'd hit him and actually piss him off.

"I didn't sell out on you, Avery."

"The hell you didn't! You fuckin' went to my dad," she was yelling so loud now. They were in the gym of the arena, way too early in the morning before Raw. If anyone was awake right then and at the arena, she didn't quite frankly care if anyone over heard her. She felt completely betrayed. "You were the last person I'd expect to succumb to the great Mark Calaway. I never thought you'd bend under my dad's rule."

"We just want to keep you safe, Avery. No one knows who beat the shit out of you. Still. And there's not much anyone can do about it because there weren't any cameras in that damn area of the hallway." Now it was Brock's turn to be beyond pissed. Why couldn't she just understand that they didn't want to see her get hurt like this again? "I will continue your training when you're not in a sling and you're not 'paralyzed' anymore."

Apparently her dad had thought it was hilarious to tell everyone about her drug induced stupor. "Fuck you."

"You'd enjoy that too much, Avery," Brock laughed, "But if you're offerin'-"

"What the fuck?" River's eyes snapped up to the doors of the gym as Brock whipped around in his spot, and just in time to see Paul Wight charging at him, full force. He had just enough time to move out of the way of being tackled to the ground by the giant. "Someone wanna explain this conversation before anyone acts too rashly?"

That came from Glen. And by seeing both Paul and Uncle Glen there made her feel like- "So y'all are checkin' up on me? Am I allowed to use the fuckin' bathroom without someone bein' sent in after me? This is so fuckin' ridiculous. It's like y'all don't even trust me to-"

"Shut up, Avery. You gettin' all defensive is gonna make them think that we've slept together and I know that's the last thing you want." Brock had turned his head to look at her before turning back to Glen, Paul was still behind him but he'd seemed to think better of inflicting any kind of physical violence on him. "We have not and will not ever be sleeping together. I am married and River has higher morals than that. It was a joke, something we've said to each other to lighten the mood if we were too angry to think properly. And with that one it happens quite often-"

River stormed past him. "Fuck all three of y'all. Maybe y'all will enjoy that better."

And then she was gone.

**XXX**

"How is it that he can make just sitting on a stool in the ring look like the sexiest thing in the world?"

"It's the look on his face," River sighed, "That and his hair."

The laughing the ensued after her admission caught her off guard, she whipped around and saw two of her favorite tag teams in the world. She'd called them 'The Old Guys' ever since she was little. She'd kept in contact with Brian even while she was away at rehab.

"So you think Joe Anoa'i is sexy, huh?" He thought he was funny apparently. "A little birdy told me that ever since you're little accident, you make sure to see all of his matches. Someone told me that you two traded phone numbers and that you check your phone all the-"

"Do you have a point, Oh, double G? Or are you just blowin' hot air like usual?" she interrupted, "and anyway, what are y'all doin' over here? Do y'all have a match next?"

Billy smirked, "Just watch and see, Red. Watch and see."

"I don't think she'll have any trouble with that. She looks completely smitten with Joe Anoa'i."

"Oh shut up." But she didn't walk away. She couldn't help it. Roddy was one of her favorite 'legends', especially in the ring. And she liked the banter between Roddy and The Shield. And the way Joe ground his teeth after Roddy pinched his check, she thought she was going to melt. What was wrong with her? She had never felt this way about any one before. And certainly not a coworker, not a wrestler, not anyone.

"How's that arm feeling?"

River jumped as Phil Brooks broke her out of her thoughts. She looked up into his hazel eyes and only saw genuine concern and curiosity. Nodding, she smiled at him. "It's feelin' better now, thanks. I mean the pain is still there, but it's not out of control. Thanks for askin'."

Phil smiled back, "If you need any natural pain relief suggestions let me know. I've got a few in my back pocket."

She thanked him again before he walked over to the New Age Outlaws and began planning their spots. And she went back to loving what she was seeing in the ring. And then her Old Guys ran out to save Roddy with Phil and River couldn't decide who to cheer for. There was too much greatness in the ring for that. All seven of those men were great at what they did, and they were all so passionate. She would've given anything to find something that she was half as passionate about as they were about their careers.

She said hi to Dustin, wandering away from the screen and speakers so that she didn't get his and Cody's entrance music stuck in her head all night.

There was so much going on in her life, yet so little as well. She just wanted to get away from it for a while, just sit in a quiet place and completely clear her mind. It'd been almost a week since the last time her and Brock had worked out together. Which meant it'd been almost a week since she'd been attacked. Which meant that she was struggling. She needed to find her center, she could feel it creeping up on her and she wanted to get control of it before it took her over again. She was at the point where she didn't feel hungry, but knew she needed the food for energy and sustenance. So she made herself eat something every few hours. A granola bar here, an apple there, maybe a protein shake a little later, anything to get food in her stomach. It fed both of her vices. It fed her anorexia, she wasn't eating meals. But it fed the side of her that needed to be healthy, because she was actually eating.

After she'd left the gym of the arena that morning, she'd went down to the ring. It was still a type of safe haven for her. She was trying to decide whether she should go home until her arm healed or if she should stay on the road, help out where she could at work like she'd been doing for the few days. She'd talked Vince and Uncle Paul into letting her do the little things, the simple things that most of the other crew members despised. She was enjoying it, as much as she could. But the only reason she really wanted to stay on the road was so she could train with Brock.

She found a quite spot, in a nearly abandoned hallway, and just sat down on the floor. Closing her eyes, she just made her brain stop thinking. River concentrated on breathing, in and out. She counted her slow breaths, letting everything else go. She had no idea how long she sat there and lost complete track of time until her phone rang. And the ringtone told her that it was her dad.

She answered the phone, but didn't say anything.

"_Darlin'_."

"Yes, daddy?" she sighed. Even when he was off on the road being The Undertaker and missing the important things going on in her life, she could never actually stay mad at him for long. But she could give a pretty mean silent treatment.

"_What were ya doin' in the gym this mornin'?"_

"You already know what I was doin', Daddy," she should've known that this conversation was going to happen sooner or later. "But I figure if ya need an explanation of what a person does in a gym, then you should reconsider bein' a wrestler."

"_Don't get smart with me, River Avery. Ya know that you shouldn't be in a gym, darlin'. The doctors said you couldn't do any type of physical activity at least until yer collarbone was healed-"_

"Well does physical activity include sex with B? Because apparently the body guards you hire to follow me think I'm gonna sleep with married men," she interrupted.

"_That's not funny. Paul and Glen know better than that, River. They're just tryin' to protect you. I don't understand why you're so against people helpin' you." _He had a point, though she'd never admit that to anyone.

"Daddy, they should know that I learned my morals from the best. I just watched what you and the wicked bitch from the south did and then went in the opposite direction." She was actually pretty proud of that sting. She knew it'd dig deep. Until he opened his big mouth again.

"_Now, listen here little girl. I may have made some mistakes in my life, especially when it came to bein' a role model to you and your siblin's, but you know that I've tried to make it up to all of 'em. I'm a better person than I was when you were growin' up-"_

"We'll see, daddy. Kaia has to be at least two years old before we can actually decide that." And then she hung up the phone. Obviously she wasn't going to have any kind of calming session after that phone call so she made her way back to the more populated hallways, finding the same TV she'd been at closest to gorilla position, waiting for the night to get over with so that she could help tear apart the ring and go to the hotel and sleep.

**XXX**

"Tell me that is not Little Red Riding Hood, all grown up."

River squealed. She actually squealed. She always knew there was a reason she loved when Raw went 'Old School'. She missed seeing the guys she looked up to while she was growing up. The older guys were her family, not the new people who didn't know anything about her and didn't care to get to know her.

When she turned around she saw Rikishi. Kish and everyone in his family who were in the business while she was growing up had called her Little Red Riding Hood, shortened to Red after a while. Although, they did pull out the full name if she'd gotten into something she wasn't supposed to, which had happened often growing up.

"Kishi!" she was so excited to see him. "I haven't seen you in years! How are you? How's your family? Your boys look just like you! Gosh, I have missed you."

"Woah, slow down, Red. First, what happened to your arm? And why did I see a tattoo on the back of your neck?" he smiled at her though, it was good to see her.

"My arm and collarbone are broken, I'm surprised you haven't heard about it though. My dad seems to be callin' everyone he knows to tell 'em about it, even if he hasn't talked to 'em in years. About a week ago now, I was on my way back to my room at the hotel and someone just came up outta now where and attacked me," River explained, she shrugged it off though. "I'm fine though. It's gettin' better every day and the pain isn't intolerable anymore."

"Good, good. Listen, stay here. I've got a match next with Too Cool, but I want to talk to you more. Catch up or something, you got anything going on?"

"I've always got time for you, Kish. I won't move a muscle."

He pointed to his eyes with two fingers before pointing to her with one, smiled and walked closer to his teammates, getting ready for his match.

"I didn't know you had a tattoo." There was a feather light touch on the back of her neck and it made her shiver. "It looks familiar. I've seen one of these before."

She'd forgotten that she rarely wore her long red hair up in a bun on the top of her head. She mostly wore it in a low pony or completely down to hide the tattoo. "That's because my dad has the same one, in the same spot. I got it when I turned 18. I made him take me, and he paid for it."

When she turned to face him, he was nodding. "I like it. Makes me wonder how many others you're hiding."

"Oh, you didn't know?"

River rolled her eyes, smirking. "Maybe you'll find out one day."

"He better not find out one day," Brian said. He was getting to be a pain in her ass today.

"Why are you bugging out, Old Guy? They aren't in any inappropriate places. And they all mean something special-"

"What about that one, the new one just above your ass crack. Or the one on your ribs that is too close to your boob for comfort and I wish you'd never shown me," he was smirking now.

"So that's at least three. How many do you have, River?" Joe asked, again sending shivers down her spine.

"Both feet, my tailbone, my left ribs are covered to my hip, my right ribs right here," she motioned to a spot just under her arm pit, "the back of my neck and-"

"And? Why is there an 'and'? I thought that was it!" Brian was going to get the scoop on the 'and' tattoo. But first he wanted to send Joe away, he was looking a little too interested. "Don't you have somewhere to be getting to?"

"Are you sure he isn't your dad?"

River laughed, "I told you they are all super protective of me. You better get goin' though. Good luck out there, stay safe."

He sent her a wink before nodding to Brian and walking away. She watched him go, his hair dripping and swaying as he walked. It was so long, she just wanted to grab a handful and pull it hard-

"'Good luck out there'," Brian mocked, using a high pitch voice, "'Stay safe'. You've got it so bad, River Avery. So bad."

"Don't worry about it, oh double G. Nothing is going to come of it, he's just a friend." It was something she had heard everyone say about her. She was just a friend. Now if only she could keep him in the friend zone with that part of her that couldn't stop thinking about him, she'd be just fine.


	23. Chapter 23

**So, hate me for taking so long. I totally understand. But this is a long chapter. I didn't have a good breaking point until the ending. So yeah. Uh, thanks for reading y'all. You're the greatest! I love you all!**

* * *

><p><span><strong>Part 23<strong>

"Hey, River."

River and her coworkers looked up at the sudden noise breaking into their silent work. They were almost done tearing down the ring and putting it in the trucks to be sent off to the next arena. All of them were exhausted it was nearing midnight so they'd just silently agreed to work in silence. And then he ruined it, and most of them glared at her.

"Yes, Joe?"

He jogged over to her, wearing sweats and a t-shirt. "I was wondering if you needed a ride back to the hotel tonight."

"I actually drove myself tonight," she shrugged slightly, "Thanks for the offer though."

"Well, that's perfect. Because Jon and Colby left without me," he smirked when her jaw dropped. "I had a meeting with Paul and Steph. Jon and Colby offered to wait, but I told them I'd be fine. Do you mind giving me a ride? I mean, if you want. I can catch a cab or something, it's not a big deal. I just figured I'd ask because I feel like you've been avoiding me since Old School night. But if you've got plans after work then its fine. I mean, don't feel obligated to-"

"Joe, stop ramblin'. I don't have plans after work other than a date with my bed. And as long as you drive, I do not mind sharin' my rental with you. We've got another half hour before we're done. If you wanna wait-"

"I'll help," it came out of his mouth so quickly that she barely understood it. "I mean, it looks like you could use an extra set of hands. I mean, with you being half paralyzed and all."

"Ha ha, laugh it up Anoa'i. Get your ass over here. We could use your manly muscles."

"Thank God," one of the crew members muttered making River roll her eyes at Joe. They got to work, all the while watching each out of the corner of their eyes.

The ride to the hotel was quiet. River was tired, Joe could see that. But he was wide awake, being around her made him that way.

"You never did finish telling me about your tattoos," he mentioned.

River laughed, "That was almost a month ago. My arm was still in a sling then."

"I know, but it's just in a cast now. And it looks like you've healed from just about everything else since then. So now I'm gonna bug you about your tattoos, what are they of?"

"Let's see-"

"The ones on your feet?" he asked, starting at the same spot she had when she told him about them.

"You remembered? The ones on my feet are tributes to my dad. One says 'Big Evil' and the other has that symbol he was popular for during his Ministry Days. It's even purple and black, my mom rarely let us watch him when he was goin' through that storyline."

"And your tailbone?"

"Ah, well that one is a long story, but it says 'Let It Be'. A friend and I got them together, in the same spot. My dad just found out about that one, and he found out that my friend had a matchin' one, he wasn't too happy about that," River explained.

"We'll come back to that one," Joe threatened with a wink, "What about the ones on your ribs?"

"Jeez, you were payin' attention," she hadn't thought he would remember all of them, "My left ribs is a mixture of things, it's my largest tattoo. The back ground is of a sunset at my dad's house. Over top of that is a bible verse and around that is my siblin's names. We had to sneak in Kaia's name, I didn't think my dad was gonna have more kids."

"You don't sound so excited about that," Joe observed, deciding to move on when she just shrugged. "And your right rib? I'm guessing that's the one the Road Dogg was saying he didn't approve of."

This made River chuckle again, "Yeah, I mean, he likes the meanin' behind it, just not the placement. It's very close to my breast line. He swears that when I'm an old lady, my boob will sag over it. It is probably the most meanin'-ful tattoo I have, it says 'Latino Heat', I got it a couple years after Eddie passed away. My dad signed for me to get it because I was only 16 or 17. My mom was pissed though."

"What is the bible verse on your left ribs?" he asked as he pulled the rental car into a parking spot at the hotel. She hadn't realized that they'd finally arrived.

"It is Psalm 20:4 'May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed'," she told him, "And I just got one on my collarbone, after it healed of course. I got it a week ago, it says 'this too shall pass'. You're the only one who knows about that one though."

They sat in the car, just looking at each other. "I have a feeling there's another one. When you first told me about them you added an 'and' before Road Dogg interrupted you. And since you just got the collarbone a week ago, I think there's one more."

River blushed, and in the dim light from the parking lot Joe saw it. "It's the one I forget the most. Only one person other than me, and now you, knows about it. And I wish he didn't know about it either. It's a star, it's uh, right above where my leg and pubic bone touch. Yeah."

She moved to get out of the car, obviously embarrassed, and Joe followed. Walking into the hotel, side by side until he felt her stop in her tracks. "Oh shit."

"River Avery Calaway," Doc Chris looked pissed as hell. "It's in your contract that you come see me once a week. I realize that Larry was a bit slack on you, and let you go a month at a time before he demanded that you see him, but because of recent accidents, I am demanding you come see me every week. You've obviously been avoiding me for the past two weeks. Do not make me get either Vince or your father involved, because we both know you won't like it."

She cleared her throat, a mix of embarrassment and fear of her father knowing she was skipping out on Doc Chris. "It wasn't that I was avoidin' you, per say, Chris. I just felt that you had more important people to tend to. Like, Joe's eye. And-"

"No excuses, River. I've got everything I need in this lobby and we are doing this now."

"Um, Doc, c- can't this wait?" she looked nervously to Joe, hoping that one of them would get the hint.

"River he needs to check you over. It's perfectly normal to get a physical. Just let the man do his job, obviously it's in your contract to keep you safe," Joe prompted, not understanding why she'd try to get out of a routine checkup.

"Now River. I will call your dad." He grabbed her hand and pulled her into a semi secluded area in the lobby. "The good thing is that I'm have more experience helping with patients with anorexia than Larry did. My younger sister actually has anorexia, so I kind of grew up with it."

She heard Joe's sharp intake of breath and tried to ignore the fact that he was even there. "Well at least Larry had the decency to be discreet."

"What do you mean?"

"People don't know, Chris. My family knows, barely, Paul Wight knows, Vince knows, and Brock Lesnar knows. That's it. I don't want people to know. That's why no one knows-"

"Well, I mean, I just figured that since you guys are together now that he'd know," Doc Chris looked at Joe, "Have you ever seen her eat?"

"We're not together," River interrupted.

Chris and Joe ignored her. "I think I have actually. Not a full meal, but snacks here and there. Mostly fresh fruits and vegetables."

"So you are eating, good. Now the last time we talked you told me that food diaries are a no go for you, right?"

"Yes," she agreed, begrudgingly. To say that she was embarrassed was an understatement. Did Doc Chris really have to do this with Joe Anoa'i standing right next to her? If there had been any chance of him liking her, it all went out the window now. Guys like him did not want to be weighed down by a girl with issues like she did. And she had plenty of them.

"Right, well I came up with an alternative-"

"For a food diary?"

"No, an alternative option to seeing your improvements. You hate being weighed on scales, right?"

"Are we going to be goin' back through my entire struggle with anorexia? Because I'm thinkin' that is more for a psychologist than a doctor of professional wrestlers," River smarted off.

"Don't be sarcastic, I'm trying to help you. Now answer the question." She heard Joe chuckle behind her as Chris told her off.

"Yes, I hate bein' weighed on scales. That's how it started, me keepin' track of every little thing I ate during the day and how much I weighed. I'd check between three to four times durin' the day," River told him, figuring that now that Joe knew there was no reason to really try to hide it from him.

"Okay. Well I came up with an alternative. Have you ever tried measuring yourself?" Chris asked, "Like taking a tape measure and seeing how many inches you are around your waist, thighs, chest, and arms?"

"No," she answered, "It's never really been about how wide I was or how 'big' I was. It was mostly just how much I weighed and the numbers on the scale. I didn't care that I was a size double zero or if I was a size ten. I just wanted to weigh less, all the time."

"Right, so from now on, we're going to keep track of your actual size. Because that will be able to tell us if you are truly the right size for your height. Obviously it's always good to get some strength training in, so that you can build more muscle. What were you and Brock working on before your accident?"

He was jumping from one thing to another and she could barely keep up with him. "We did a lot of cardio and a lot of free weights, dead lifts and what not. He said that machines were less likely to get the results that we wanted. But then he turned into a jackass like my dad."

"I think we all have overbearing parents. But I also think that your dad is just trying to keep you safe," Chris smiled, sympathetically. River rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. Waiting for his next set of instructions. "So we'll start tonight. Get down to just one shirt so we can measure you properly."

The look he gave her told River that either Larry or her dad had told him all of her tricks. She glared back at him, "Just in case you didn't notice. It's winter outside. Which means it's cold. And because I don't create any body heat, I layered my shirts. I even layered my pants. So before you run to my dad with this new information, like how my shirts I'm currently wearin', keep in mind that it's fuckin' cold outside."

She started shedding her zip up sweatshirt. "Holy shit, River."

"Shut up, Chris," she said as she pulled off her third long sleeved shirt, "I told you that it's cold outside. And I don't own a winter jacket. And anyway, 6 shirts isn't bad. The first time I tried to video chat with my dad and hide it, I was wearin' ten of these and a hoodie."

"But I watched you put that top one on over your black crew shirt," Joe put in, reminding her that he was in fact still with them, "you only put on one shirt."

"I put on all of those at the same time, Joe. While you were standin' right in front of me."

When she got down to her racer back tank top, both Joe and Chris took in sharp breaths and River could just imagine the looks of horror on their faces. Part of her brain knew that it was because she still looked sickly thin, though she was at the healthiest weight she'd been at since she was 16 years old, but another part of her brain went directly to that place that told her that she was too fat and they were disgusted with the fat that they could see on her body.

"Wouldn't this go faster if y'all would stop starin' at me and get to work? And why are we in the lobby? Can't we go to a room or somethin'? I feel exposed," River snapped.

"Ah, I already thought of that. That's why were in the lobby," Chris tutted at her, "I didn't want to risk a sexual harassment case."

"Okay, first of all, I wouldn't do that. Second of all, I think that me standin' in front of two guys in a lobby of a hotel wouldn't rule out my chances of gettin' a sexual harassment case against you since you ordered me to take my clothes off-"

"Ah, but you forget that the lovely desk clerk over there can see us. And there is a camera with a microphone right above us that can see and hear us. And I may have bribed the clerk with some merchandise to keep an eye out for you, being the flight risk that you are." He was being a smart aleck and River wasn't impressed. Joe, however, clearly thought the whole situation was hilarious because she could see him out of the corner of her eye doubled over laughing.

Once he got his laughter under control he stood up straight, and tried out another joke, "So I guess this would be a bad time to tell you that you look like you need to eat something?"

River glared at him, the first time she'd actually looked at him since they'd walked into the hotel. "Obviously."

"Okay, okay. It looks like our little bird is getting tired. Let's try to not poke the hornets' nest anymore. Joe make yourself useful and give me her measurements," Chris threw a tape measure at him as River just gaped.

"Yes sir," and Joe seemed a little too enthusiastic.

**XXX**

"I'm sorry if that was awkward for you," River mumbled as her and Joe made their way to her hotel room. He'd insisted on walking her to make sure she was safe. "And if there is any way for you to keep quiet what you heard tonight, I would be eternally grateful."

"I didn't think it was awkward," Joe replied, "It was more eye opening than anything. Did you think it was awkward? And I swear on my life, I won't tell anyone. Your secret is safe with me."

"It wasn't awkward, just embarrassin'. I don't tell anyone because I'm embarrassed by it. My mom made me feel embarrassed about having a psychological disorder and now I'm fucked up in the head," River admitted.

"Do you want to talk about it? I'm a good listener," he replied.

"No, but thanks," she sighed as they reached her room. "Well, I was tired. But now I'm just, I don't even know."

"Want to hang out? I mean, I don't have anything to do tonight-"

"Nothin' but sleep. I know that you guys hardly get a real night's sleep. You don't have to stay up with me until my brain finally tells me that it's ready for sleep," River told him.

"Then let's find something to do that will tire you out," he suggested, taking the key card out of her hand and unlocking the door to her room.

He walked into the rented room, uninvited, before turning around and looking at her expectantly. "What were you thinkin', exactly, Anoa'i? I mean, seriously, it's pushing 2 a.m. Aren't you tired?"

"Not really. I always get an adrenaline rush after a show. I'll probably crash in an hour or so. Let's find a movie to watch."

River looked on as he grabbed the TV remote from off the bedside table, turned the TV on and plopped down on the bed. He started switching through the channels before she'd even gotten into the main part of the small hotel room. "Your room is bigger than ours is. And we've got two beds and a pull out couch."

"My dad pays for upgrades," River explained, shrugging. "He makes all of my reservations, and he took out a credit card in my name, that he pays for. It's his way of apologizin' to me for leaving me with my psycho mother for so many years. He gets my rentals for me too."

Joe only nodded before patting the side of the bed he wasn't lying on. "I think this is plenty big enough for both of us. Anyway, it's my turn to sleep on the pull out."

The cringe on his face made her laugh as she threw the extra shirts on the floor near her suitcase. She bent down and grabbed a pair of old basketball shorts. "That was your plan all along, wasn't it? To get me into bed with you. Let me put these on, choose a movie. I'm not picky."

While in the bathroom, she was trying to calm her nerves. She'd only slept in the same bed with two other men before. And she'd only had sex with one of them, when she was drunk. But then she remembered the day she'd gotten out of the hospital. He'd held her while she slept and she couldn't remember a time when she'd felt more safe, ever.

"Hurry up in there. The movie selections suck, we've got to find a news station to watch," Joe called, "Come on, baby girl. Don't make me come in there after you."

"And what will happen if you do come in?" she joked, playing along with him. Slowly she opened the door, standing just outside of the bathroom with her shorts and tank top on.

"I will spear you if you don't get in this bed right now," he threatened, already standing up.

"You wouldn't." He walked closer to her and she quickly made her way to the bed, but he bypassed her, going to stand by the entrance of the room. "Joe, what are you doin'?"

"I want to try something," he started, turning to look at her, "You can say no if you don't want to, but I want to try to spear you. You said you had some training right?"

"Are you serious?" when he nodded, he laughed at the look of glee on her face. "Then let's do it! But you need to take your hair down, it'll make it feel more real."

It seemed like slow motion as he took the band out of his hair, letting it fall down his shoulders. He gave her one more questioning look and she nodded. He came barreling at her, telling her to jump just before his shoulder rammed into her ribs and stomach. She laughed as they landed on the bed, breathing heavily. Joe lay on top of her, quickly pushing himself up, taking his body weight off of her. They looked into each others eyes, and ever so slowly he lowered his upper body bringing his head closer and closer to hers.

She saw his eyes move from hers to her lips and back again. He had that questioning look on his face again. And although she was a hundred percent sure what he was asking her, she nodded. That was all it took for him to lower his head all the way, gently at first touching his lips to hers. He was testing it out, before parting his own and licking the seam of her lips which she willingly opened to him. Her hands tangled in his hair, pulling his head closer down to hers. He was demanding, yet gentle at the same time. His mouth relentless as he kissed her so thoroughly.

And when he pulled away for a much needed breath, his lips didn't leave her. He simply started to kiss her eyes, then the tip of her nose, then placed a chaste kiss on her lips. He moved down to her the place where her neck and ear met, suckling on it. She gasped and he did it harder, chuckling when her hips bucked involuntarily up into his. He let his kisses trail down her neck to her collarbone gently kissing the tattoo there, her newest one. The meaning behind it was so relevant for her life at that moment that he couldn't help but kiss it again.

"Joe," her voice was strangled, she hardly recognized it as her own. Her hands still in his hair, at the base of his neck.

"Yeah, baby girl," he answered.

"I, um-"

Joe backed away from her slightly, looking into her eyes as he said, "If you want to stop we can. Just tell me if I've gone too far."

It was on the tip of her tongue to tell him that it might've been too far. That they really hadn't known each other long enough to be doing what they were doing, let alone take it up to the next level. Her brain was telling her that they shouldn't go any further. But it was the way he made her feel. The safety and sincerity. He was gentle with her but didn't treat her like he thought he was going to break her. He was strong and demanding but made sure she was right there with him. And she did not want him to stop. So she told him so.

"Please don' stop. Please."


	24. Chapter 24

**Part 24**

Stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid.

It was the same word she'd repeated over to herself for the past week. And it wasn't getting any better. If she saw him in the hallway, whether it be at the hotel or arena, she'd turn and go into the opposite direction. Which was why she was going on to the next city when Raw was done and they finished tearing down the set. She'd texted her dad and told him that she was going to be needed there early in the morning so she was just going to drive there after the show and sleep rather than get sleep and have to wake up early. It was a good plan, and she'd managed to avoid him so far that day.

Her crew knew something was wrong though, they'd mentioned it. Saying things that basically meant that she wasn't being her normal self, just not as kind. She worked with mostly guys, so she was used to them being brash. A couple times they'd tried to get her to open up about it, but she refused. She just wanted to forget everything that had happened.

"Still in a pissy mood, Avery?"

She glared at the man, giving him no answer, before walking away. They were almost finished for the night and there wasn't much she could do with her wrist still in a cast. River made her way to her boss' office, letting him know how the guys did that night and that she was taking off. He only nodded at her before going back to his paperwork.

It was surprisingly warm outside as she walked to her rental from the arena in Los Angeles. They'd been in cities that were much colder the past week so it was a good feeling to not be wearing multiple layers. She pulled her keys from her pocket, unlocking the car and throwing her wallet and phone on the passenger seat. River was just about to climb into the car when she heard someone calling out to her.

"Hey wait!" The blonde ran up to her, clutching at her side as she tried to catch her breath. "You're one hard person to track down. It's River, right?"

"Um, yes?" she answered questioningly. "Who's askin'?"

"Oh, sorry, right. I'm Tenille, or Emma. Most people call me Emma here. I'm one of the new Divas, mostly on NXT but every once in a while they bring me to Raw," the blonde, Tenille, said smiling. "I was sent to look for you. Kind of. I don't know many people here, obviously since I'm new. But Layla told me that I could see if you would want to be my road buddy. And you totally don't have to, she just said that if I found you then I'd be in good hands. And since she's been here a while, I figure she knows what she's talking about."

River tried not to laugh, "Either she knows what she's talking about or she's best friends with my stepmother and they want me to be more sociable. Tonight, I'm actually heading to the next city. I didn't want to spend the night in LA, so I was going to head out. If you want to come along, I don't mind."

Tenille's smile got even larger, if that was possible, and River knew she would end up liking this girl. "I would love to. Oh, wait, I don't have a reservation there, I was going to just head home after the show tomorrow."

"Don't worry about it. Hop in the car, I'll call the hotel on the way and see if I can switch my reservation to a double bed. If they don't like me, I'll have my dad call them," River smiled to herself, remembering the last time she'd had to sick her father on a hotel when they wouldn't let her check in even though she had her license and credit card. "It works every time."

River climbed into the driver's seat, moving her phone and wallet to the center console, as Tenille got in on the passenger's side. River needed a friend. A female friend. She was getting tired of holding everything in and really just wanted to find someone she could definitely trust. She needed to get Joe off of her chest. And apparently Layla thought Tenille could use a friend, sending her to River might've been a long stretch, but as with everything Layla does, it was done with good intentions.

"So, where are you from?"

"I was born and raised in Texas," River answered, "You?"

"Born and raised in Melbourne, Australia."

"And now I'm guessin' that you live in Florida?" At her nod, River continued, "And your parents? Your family?"

"They're still in Australia. It's hard and I miss them, but I knew that going into this. I've always wanted to be part of the WWE family. I wasn't sure how or if I'd be accepted here, but so far everyone I've met has been really great."

"I'm glad that you've had such a great start, then. Not everyone has that, you're lucky," River told her wholeheartedly.

"I'm guessing by the tone of your voice that you weren't welcomed at first," Tenille asked warily.

"It wasn't that. I didn't really let myself have that great of a start. I only got this job because of my dad, even though Vince tells me that's not true. I came here at one of the lowest points in my life, I was constantly bein' watched by my dad's friends and needed to have constant contact with one of the trainers. And I was just pissed at the world. It didn't help me make many friends," River explained. "And it definitely didn't help that when my dad left, and all of his friends were checkin' up on me and every time a new guy came up they thought I was sleepin' with the old guys. And then the rumors started."

"You don't look like the kind of girl that would sleep with one of the wrestlers," Tenille said. River was about to reply when her phone rang and the ringtone could only mean one person.

'Sierra. Hotel. India. Echo. Lima. Delta. Shield.'

Tenille laughed, "Friends of yours?"

"Kind of," Rive groaned before answering and putting it on speakerphone over the speakers in the car, "Yes Colby?"

"_The disdain I hear in your voice wounds me, River Avery. It seriously breaks my heart."_

"I'm so sorry. Let me retry that," River said, rolling her eyes at Tenille and putting on the fakest voice she could possibly muster, "What in the world would cause the great Colby Lopez to call little ol' me? What makes me worthy of receivin' such a wonderful blessin' as him callin' me this late at night?"

"_I think the sarcasm is worse."_

"Sorry, Colb's that's all I got right now. What can I do for you? And please keep in mind that I am not alone and you are on speakerphone."

She could practically hear the smile in his voice. _"So does that mean no sexual favors tonight?"_

"Ew, please. As if I would ever do anythin' for you. You're makin' me look bad in front of my new friend."

"_It's a new friend? Did you finally get yourself a boyfriend, Avery? Hey- ouch, man that hurts,"_ Tenille sent a weird look towards River, keeping quiet, and River just shrugged, "_Okay, man chill. I called to see if you'd eaten yet tonight."_

River saw red. "What the hell kind of question is that?"

"_I was just wondering because Joe and-"_

"Are you with Joe?" she demanded, "Put that asshole on the phone, now."

"_River-"_

"I said 'now', damn it."

"_Joe I think you're in trouble,"_ Colby said, while River muted the phone so only Tenille could hear what she was saying.

"Joe knows stuff about me that no one else knows. Except that you're about to find out so please, don't judge me and please don't repeat anythin' that I say to him right now."

"I swear, whatever it is, won't leave this car," Tenille said, putting up her pinky as an offering, "Pinky swear."

"I think we just became best friends," River told her, using her own pinky to shake Tenille's.

"_Yeah, baby girl-"_

River made sure to take it off mute before going off on him, "No. Don't you dare call me 'baby girl', you lost that- Never mind. Did you tell Colby?"

"_About what, River? About last Monday, when we-"_

"You know what I'm talking about, Joe. He didn't just call me to ask if I'd eaten anythin' for no reason. You promised me that you wouldn't tell anyone. Obviously you're a bigger jackass than I'd originally thought. Who else did you tell?" she could barely put words together because of how pissed she was at him. "First you use me as a one night stand and then you fuckin' tell your boys that I'm anorexic? Seriously, you're no better than, than, than-"

"_Than who, River? Than your old man?"_ Joe asked, getting pissed himself, "_That's why you're mad right, because he used to do the same thing? And I didn't fucking tell anyone anything. It's perfectly normal for a friend to ask another friend if they'd had dinner. I'm pretty sure that he was going to invite you out to dinner when you get done with work. But obviously you're so full of yourself that you think everyone is talking about you. And you won't even give me a chance to explain what happened last week. But, honestly you wanted what happened just as much as I did, so I don't get why you're so pissed off."_

"Put Colby back on the phone."

"_No, I think we need to talk about this. You're obviously upset, but if you give me the chance to explain instead of running and hiding every time you see me-"_

"Joe, put Colby back on the phone."

"_Please, River. Just give me a chance to tell you-"_

"Put him on the phone, now."

"_Dude, she wants to talk to you."_

"_What'd you do to piss her off so bad, man? I haven't seen her this mad since Brock sided with her dad,"_ this came from Colby. "_You know what I mean. Don't get all pissed off with me because you made her mad. I didn't fuckin' do anything. River, what are you doing right this second?"_

"I'm drivin' Colby. What do you need?"

"_Driving? Where?"_

"My new best friend and I are drivin' to the next city. I didn't want to stay the night in LA and Layla found my best friend and soul mate and sent her to me," River explained.

"_Well, how far away are you? I need some Red time."_

"I'm not turnin' around now, Colb's. If you wanted 'All Red Everythin' I'm sure Eva Marie is available. And we're too far away now for you to meet us somewhere. We'll be gettin' to the hotel in an hour or so. Why do you want to see me so badly?"

"Maybe he's in love with you," Tenille suggested.

"_That is exactly it. I am madly in love with River Avery Calaway. The four of you are the first to hear it. I'm sorry, I couldn't hold it in any longer. River Avery, will you marry me- ouch, damn it man. That shit seriously hurts," _Colby complained, "_Someone over here doesn't like my confession- Hey, that's my phone, jack ass. Give it-"_

Both River and Tenille heard the audible click of the phone as someone on the other side hung up. And River breathed a sigh of relief.

"Well that was an informative conversation," Tenille joked, making River laughed. "No seriously, I learned a lot about you. And I promise, I will talk about it to no one except for you, unless you don't want to."

"We might was well. No use leaving the big elephant in the car. What did you learn, my new best friend?"

"Starting off, you're kind of friends with the boys of The Shield. You slept with Joe last week and by the way the conversation went, he left before you woke up the next morning, but you thought he'd be more of a man than that. You suffer from anorexia, and I'm guessing that's what you were struggling with when you came to the WWE. But by the looks of it, you seem to have it under control. I mean your skinny but you don't look sickly skinny. Then Colby said your last name is Calaway and you said Layla was best friends with your stepmom, so I'm guessing your dad is Mark Calaway, the locker room leader, legend, and Undertaker. Have I left anything out?" Tenille finished, taking a deep breath.

"You forgot the part where Brock Lesnar and my dad used to hate each other, but are now best friends because someone attacked me and Brock was trainin' me. But now he won't because my dad doesn't want me trainin' until my arm has healed," River told her. "But other than that you've got everythin' right."

"How'd the whole thing with Joe happen? If you don't mind me asking?"

River sighed again, "I don't really know. We rode back to the hotel together last week after work. Doc Chris was in the lobby waitin' for me 'cause I'd skipped out on a few too many appointments with him. It's in my contract that I see him at least once a week, but because I don't do it continuously they keep addin' time on that. He announced to whoever was in the lobby to hear that he had experience with treatin' anorexia, while Joe was right there. When that was finished, Joe insisted on walkin' me to my room because I was attacked in a hotel about a month ago. And when we got there, neither of us were tired. He invited himself in, speared me onto the bed, and the next thing I know we're having sex."

"He speared you? Like a full blown spear?" she sounded shocked.

"I've been trained. And he told me he was gonna do it. And I trusted him, not to hurt me, ya know? I mean, I'd never felt more safe and protected that I did when he was near me. I mean, I'm not that experienced but it was the best sex I've ever had. And when we were done, he held me and didn't seem like, I don't know, like-"

"Like the type that would leave before you woke up."

"Exactly. It just made me feel, I don't know, dirty, I guess. I mean, I've heard all the stories about how my dad was on the road, and all the women he had, even when he was married. I always told myself that I never wanted to be like that. And then, all of a sudden I am," River admitted, "I don't think I'm even really mad at him, I'm mad at myself for fallin' for it. I thought he was bein' genuine, that he was a good guy."

"Did you give him a chance to explain? I mean, I'm not choosing sides, but, maybe he had an early meeting or media day," Tenille asked, trying to be the voice of reason.

"I figured that if he had a reasonable excuse he would have called me, or at least texted me. I don't know. I don't have much experience with relationships. I've had sex with one other guy, we only slept together twice- years apart. And I've only dated one guy and it's not the guy I had sex with. So I'm completely confused and I have no idea what I'm doing and I really hate myself right now." River took a deep breath. Shifting her eyes to Tenille and giving her a nervous smile. "I think Layla knew what she was doing by sending you to me."

Tenille laughed, agreeing. "You seem like you need some girl time. Let's move on, we'll come back to that though. How did the anorexia start? Or I guess when?"

"I do need some girl time," River said emphatically, meaning it. "I don't even know when the anorexia started. I was in high school, bought a scale, and hid it under my bed. My mom was super skinny, my dad was working with these super skinny women, and my stepmom was super skinny. I don't think I was ever fat, just not muscular and super skinny. And I wanted to look like that. But every time I looked in the mirror I still saw flabby arms and a muffin top. Then I'd make excuses to my mom about why I wasn't goin' to eat dinner and she'd make some remark about gainin' weight and it just solidified my belief that I was a big girl."

"What happened then?"

"Uh, I passed out. Got rushed to the hospital, diagnosed, and my mom threw me into a rehab facility. It was horrible. Then when I got out, she sent me off to my dad. And then I started here. I was pissed at the world, I refused to speak to my mom- still don't- and barely spoke to my dad because he was havin' guys be bodyguards for me. I didn't want anyone knowin' I was his daughter, other than the people who already knew, so no one understood why I was bein' followed by the veterans of the business," River told her. "But then I got into a routine, I started eatin' again. It wasn't much, but a little bit every day, it gave my body somethin'. I've gone through spurts since then, it's like an addiction almost. If I skip a meal or two, I fall back into it, where if an alcoholic has one drink, he's more likely to have more and more and more."

"But you look good now," Tenille complimented, "I mean, I don't think you look unhealthy at all."

"Thank you," River smiled, "It's good to hear that, instead of my dad tellin' me that I still look too skinny. It doesn't help."

"Why don't you want people to know who your dad is?"

"Now that's a loaded question," she answered, "It's mostly because I didn't want to get special treatment based on who my dad is. I just want to be a normal person, workin' my ass off in a business I've loved since I was a little girl."

"And are you happy being a crew member?" Tenille asked.

"Jeesh, you don't beat 'round the bush. I'm happy with whatever job Vince deems good enough for me. The only thing I ever wanted to do was work for the WWE. I've got my daddy's gypsy soul, always wanted to travel with the company," River admitted, "I'm sure one day I'll settle down, maybe start a family. But for now, even though it's exhaustin', the travellin' is the greatest part of my job."

Tenille agreed with her, "The gypsy soul will get you every time. It's a necessity in this business, too. The ones who wish they were home more than on the road won't last long in this business."

"So what about you? Any secret stories you want to share?" River asked, turning the tables.

"Not really," Tenille answered, "I'm single, not really looking for a guy right now. My parents aren't any one famous, but they are the greatest people you'll ever meet. And, although I've been self-conscious about my looks, I'm still going out half naked almost every night doing something that I've loved since I was a little girl."

'Sierra. Hotel. India. Echo. Lima. Delta.'

"I swear he loves to annoy me," River joked, answering the phone and putting it on speakerphone again, "Did you need something Colby?"

"_It's funny you should ask, my love. Damn it, man, you've got to stop doing that. It fucking hurts. Sorry about that, I was wondering what kind of car you are currently driving. And if your lovely new best friend, and soul mate, is a blonde."_

"Those are both super creepy questions, Colb's. But yes, my lovely new best friend and soul mate is a blonde. You'll probably know her as Emma, but her name is Tenille. Be a nice gentlemen and say hello," River told him.

"_Hello, Tenille. Are you takin' care of our girl?"_

She laughed, "I think we're taking care of each other. I feel a lifelong friendship starting tonight. We even pinky swore!"

"_What? You guys pinky swore? That's honestly the only way to get her as your best friend for life. I'm so jealous that I didn't know that until after I heard her pinky swear with her younger sister over the phone- What, Joe? Yeah, we hung out a couple weeks ago and her sister called. Dude, why do you care?- anyway, River. You never told me what kind of car you're driving!"_

Just as he said that, the car behind them started flashing their lights at them. "What the heck? I'm drivin' a-"

"_A dark green Nissan Altima?"_

"I am officially creeped out, now. Is that you behind us, flashin' your lights like a maniac?"

"_Let Joe pass you, we'll lead you to the next city and we'll find some food to bring back to the hotel,"_ Colby said. _"You can't run away from us now."_

"Damn it."


	25. Chapter 25

**Part 25**

"Okay. So how is this gonna work?" River asked, leaning against the back of the booth at the restaurant they were in. "Do y'all have a reservation here tonight?"

Joe and Jon looked at Colby. "He was positive that the hotel would take on look at us and give us a room for tonight."

"And if they don't?"

"We'll just crash with you," Colby said, matter-of-factly.

"Um, no. I don't think you will," River told him.

He just stared at her, dumbfounded. "Why not?"

She scoffed, "Because I don't have a room with five beds in it. They don't make those."

"Well, this is what I was thinking," Colby started, giving her a smile that she knew was meant to win her over. It wasn't working. "You get a double with a pull out. You and I share a bed, Jon and T over there share the other bed. And then we stick Mr. Grumpy Pants on the pull out bed."

"Or, I could get my own bed. T could get her own bed. And the three of you can duke it out over the floor and the pull out," River suggested, sending him a sickeningly sweet smile.

"You don't want to share a bed with me?"

"Colbs, I don't want to share a bed with any one, except-" she stopped short, she hadn't meant to add that last word. It was supposed to stay in her head.

"Except who?" he was excited now. "Are you dating someone and holding out on us? Come on River, friends tell friends these kinds of thing! Does he work with us? Or is he from home? Don't leave anything out!"

"Wow, he's just as bad as a girl," Tenille joked, "I don't know how you guys work together."

"Tell me about it," Jon muttered.

"Come on, Avery. You can't just leave us hanging like that," Colby nearly whined. "Who's this mysterious knight in shining armor?"

"There is no knight in shinin' armor," River said flatly. "I thought for half a second that there might be one, but he turned out to be like all the rest of the men in my life. Disappointin' and the leavin' type. That's not what I'm lookin' for. I want someone different, someone who's stronger and better than that. I'm not fallin' again until I know the next one is real."

"Why do you gotta blame the guy? I mean, how do you know it's his fault that he left? Maybe you do your own share of disappointing too," Joe snapped, feeling irritated that she'd call him out before letting him give her an explanation.

"Damn, Joe. What the hell is wrong with you tonight? You're more sulkier than usual. And then you say something like that to our girl here? Not cool bro, not cool," Colby went to River's defense right away.

River shrugged, "Maybe he's right, I don't know. I mean, you've never heard anyone say that Mark Calaway has disappointed them. Maybe it is just me."

"Who could be disappointed with you, River? I mean look at you!"

River flinched visibly. And then she felt her stomach roll as if she was going to be sick. She quickly excused herself, nearly running to the bathroom and reaching it just in time to lean over one of the toilets.

"Damn it," she muttered, sliding down to sit on the floor. She wished that conversation had never started.

"River? You okay?" Tenille asked softly as she walked into the restroom.

"I don't know," she admitted. "I think I ate too much."

"River, come on. Please don't lie to me," Tenille pleaded.

"Honestly, I haven't felt well for almost a week now," River told her, "I've been throwin' up when I eat a lot and I've just been nauseous. I think I may have a bug or somethin'. Tenille, I'm not lyin' right now. I'm not bulimic. I've never made myself throw up. I promise."

"How long ago did you and Joe have sex?"

"No. No, no, no. That's not possible," River said quickly, "Ew, please don't even try to think that I'm sick because I'm pregnant. No way."

"Well, did you use protection?"

"Tenille, I can't get pregnant," River explained, "I mean, it's next to impossible for me to get pregnant."

"I think I'm confused. Are you on birth control?"

"No. I'm anorexic. I have been since I was 16 years old. I ovulate less than most infertile women. My ovaries barely work, I hardly ever have a menstrual cycle. I put so much stress on my body that it doesn't like to work properly, ever," River said.

"Are you positive? Because from what I've heard, his family reproduces as much as they eat."

"Yeah," River sighed, "I had myself checked out when Paul and I were datin'. It's one of the reasons I broke up with him. I just felt like he should have the option to have more kids one day. And I obviously can't give him that."

"River, I'm so sorry-"

"Please, don't feel bad for me. I've come to terms with it, I did this to myself. I'm not upset about it anymore. If I ever start a family of my own, there are plenty of other options for me to look into. I'm not worried about it," she shrugged. "We better get back out there before they send a search party out for us."

River washed her hands, rinsed her mouth as best she could, and they walked together. Tenille wrapped her arm around River's shoulder, bringing her in for a side hug. And it meant a lot to River, it meant that Tenille was accepting her, flaws and all.

"If you ever need me, let me know," Tenille said softly.

"Thank you."

A voice cleared in front of them, "River, I think we need to talk."

She felt Tenille release her, and felt goose bumps raise up along her arms. "Now?"

The nod he gave her sent another round of chills down her spine. She felt one last squeeze of comfort from Tenille before she was left alone with Joe. The man she'd been trying, and successfully, to avoid for nearly a week.

"Baby girl, I'm sorry-"

"You don't have to apologize, Joe. I'm pretty sure that you made your feelin's perfectly clear. No big deal, no hard feelin's. What's done is done and now we move on from it," River told him.

"I didn't mean it to come out like that, River," Joe started, holding up a hand when she tried to interrupt him again, "No. Hold on. Last week, the reason I left without saying anything to you was because I felt bad about how I treated you. I haven't even taken you on a date and I've already forced myself into your bed. I felt like shit, and I still do. You deserve to be treated like a queen, not like a ring rat."

"Joe, I don't-"

"Don't argue with me. If any of your uncles found out what happened, that I treated you that way, they'd want to kill me," Joe joked.

"If any of them found out that you had sex with me, no matter what happened before or after, they'd want to kill you."

He looked around conspiringly and whispered, "Let's not tell them, okay? I'd like to get to know you more before they kill me for bedding you."

River laughed loudly, "Beddin' me? You could be a little more polite about it, I mean, I am standin' right in front of you."

He winked at her, pulling her in for a hug. "I'm sorry, baby girl. I really am. Will you please give me another chance? To at least be a friend to you?"

"I think friends is exactly what I'm needin' right now," River told him, "Thanks for bein' one of my first friends." He gave her a strange look and she shrugged, "I haven't made many friends in this business. Tenille is one of the first women to talk to me without bein' forced by 'Chelle or my dad. And most of the newer guys think I'm a ring rat. So I try to steer clear of them."

"Well, we'll be your friends. Now let's get to the hotel. I'm so tired, I might die."

**XXX**

"I think I might kill all three of you."

"Hey, it wasn't my idea to follow you like we were lost puppies," Jon put in, pushing his way through the door River was holding open. "I call the couch since these idiots can't seem to function without 'Taker's daughter."

"Hey, now," River countered, "Don't hate me because I'm awesome."

"Really? Really?"

"Really, really."

"Okay, we don't need to more Mike Mizanin's walking around here," Tenille stopped their childish behavior, "The beds are big enough, River and I can share. Colby and Joe can share."

"I'm not sharing with him!" Both Joe and Colby said this at the same time, evening pointing at each other.

Glaring at Colby, Joe asked, "Why can't Colby and T share? River and I can share another one."

"And why would we do that?"

"Because you and T have blonde hair. River and I don't," Joe explained like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"I don't think that makes much sense, but I don't really care. I'm tired, so I'm going to change and go to bed. You guys figure out where everyone is going to sleep, keeping in mind that I am getting a bed."

"What she said," River replied, climbing into the bed furthest from the door. "I don't care where you two go, but I'm sleeping here."

"It looks like she just made the decision for us," Joe told Colby with a laugh, explaining when River gave him a weird look, "I can't sleep close to the door and Colby can't sleep close to the window. It's just one of reasons we work so well together."

"And Jon?"

"I can sleep anywhere, unless those two fuckers don't stop talking. And then I can't sleep. And I get pissed off."

"Sorry," River whispered, "Good night, guys."

She turned on her side as someone turned off the lights. Just getting comfortable, she felt the bed dip as Joe slipped in beside her. Her body instinctively rolled into him, feeling his warmth. She couldn't get her mind around the fact that he felt safe to her. She'd known him a little over a month, but he still felt like a safety net to her. It scared her a little bit. She'd never felt that with anyone before.

"If you try to touch me tonight, I will kill you," Tenille said apparently getting into the bed she was being forced to share with Colby.

"Chill, sweetheart. I've got a girlfriend back home."

"Wait," River sat up, looking over Joe's shoulder, "You've got a girlfriend?"

Colby laughed, "Yeah. We've been together for a few years now."

"What's her name?"

"Leighla."

"She pretty?"

"Hell ya."

"You love her?"

"More than anything."

"More than wrestlin'?"

"I said more than anything, didn't I?"

"Then don't screw it up," River told him, "I've seen too many guys in this business throw away women who would do anythin' for them. All for a piece of ass. My dad bein' one of them."

With that, River laid back down. It was time for her to sleep. And she didn't want to keep the rest of them awake with her nonsense.

But that morning, she was afraid she'd woken all of them. They'd only gotten a few hours of sleep when River woke up to a sick stomach. She bolted out of bed, where she'd been lying with Joe's arms around her, and made it to the bathroom with enough time to throw up in the sink. It was becoming a ritual that she was getting sick of. A few days home would do her some good, and she couldn't wait until these last couple house shows were done with so she'd have her much needed four days off.

She was just finishing brushing her teeth when she heard a knock on the door and Tenille's voice answering it. Then she heard a voice she hadn't expected to hear. "Who are you and what are you doing in my girl's room?"

River exited the bathroom before answering, "what are you doin' here, Randy?"

"I got a phone call from Vince. Apparently you skipped out on your appointment with Doc Chris again last night. They were wondering if I'd seen you around," he answered.

"Why didn't they just call me?"

"They said you wouldn't have answered."

River shrugged, "I told Vince I was goin' to be headin' out last night. Chris never said I had to meet him last night."

"I don't know what's goin' on with you, Calaway, but I'm getting sick of being called every time you need some kind of help or someone is looking for you-"

"I never told anyone they had to call you. You'll have to talk to my dad about that, he thinks you're a good influence on me. If he only knew, though, right?" River countered, "What would he think of you if he found out that when I was only 17 you-"

"Shut up, River. I get it," Randy stopped her, "Damn, what has gotten into you lately? You're all bitchy all the time and you act like you've got a stick shoved up your ass."

"Where is this comin' from? Is it because I've been makin' friends with some of the new people on the roster? Do you honestly feel threatened by them? Your career is almost over, Randall. I think it's about time someone else stepped up and took over," River snapped at him.

The next thing she knew, Randy was pushing her up against the wall next to her hotel room. He kept his head near her ear, breathing heavily, "Little girl, if you ever disrespect me like that again-"

"I think you better let the girl go," Joe said in the angriest voice she'd ever heard from him.

"What are you gonna do, Anoa'i? If you touch me, I'll have you fired quicker than you can blink," River threatened.

"And if you don't get off of me I'll tell my dad. And you know what'll happen to you then."

Randy scoffed, backing away, "Oh, I get it. He's your new fuck buddy?"

"Randy, don't-"

"Don't what? Don't do what you just threatened to do?"

"Are you even sober right now?" River asked.

"I asked you a fucking question, River!" Randy shouted, "Is he your new fuck buddy? Is this why you think you're better than me all of a sudden?"

"Randy I haven't slept with you in over two years. We only had sex twice and both times you got me drunk and tricked me into sleeping with you. I kept quiet about it, because my dad respected you, but I will not let you walk all over me like this," River told him, "So I suggest you walk your happy, high ass away from me before I get really pissed off."

She watched him walk away before turning to look at Joe, "I'm sorry about-"

"You had the nerve to be pissed at me?" Joe demanded, keeping his voice quiet so that their roommates didn't hear them, "But you let him use you? At least I had the decency to be sober."

"Considering the first time he forced himself on me, I was 17, I don't think I let him do anything. But don't worry, it won't happen again. With him or you."


	26. Chapter 26

**Part 26**

The look of disgust on his face haunted her. And it made her feel like the lowest piece of scum. The only good thing that came from it was that she started emotional eating for the first time in her life. Tenille was surprised to turn around and see River with yet another pastry in her hands.

They were at the mall in Orlando, both being in Florida for a couple days off before the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view. And so far, River had bought four different types of pastries. If how skinny River was, wasn't a tell-tale of the horror's she'd suffered with her anorexia, Tenille would have thought she'd lied about it. It seemed like the only thing River did lately was eat.

"T, you have got to try one of these," River exclaimed, "I think this one is the best."

"River, I realize that you're upset, but I feel like you need to get a handle on the emotional eating. This binge that you're going through is not healthy," Tenille said gently.

"I'm just always hungry lately," River admitted, "I don't know what's goin' on."

"Why don't you try to focus on something else?" Tenille suggested, "Or someone else. What did you do last night?"

"I was tryin' out the new WWE Network," she said, "Uncle Paul and Steph gave me an early pass to see what I thought. I was watchin' some of the old WCW matches. It was pretty awesome. Reminded me of the business I fell in love with."

"See, that's the kind of thing that you need to be doing!" River just needed some support to forget about everything Joe.

"I also called my dad. Ate a pizza with him over video chat. He was ecstatic," River told her, "And then when we hung up I ended up throwin' up most of it."

"Still feeling sick?" Tenille asked, worried.

"Just when I eat too much. I think it's because I'm still not used to eatin'. Like I will most likely throw these amazin' pastries up. Sadly, I really like pastries-"

"Ladies, ladies, ladies! You two are a sight for sore eyes."

River and Tenille looked up to see Jon and Colby, with a dark haired girl, walking up to them. River had a mouth full of pastry that she was trying to chew quickly. She could feel her cheeks were puffed out so she took a swig of her coffee, which only made her choke more. However, Colby, Tenille, and Jon laughed at her.

"Shut up, assholes," River grumbled after she'd gotten a handle on herself.

"Sorry, sweets, we just don't get to see you eat often," Jon laughed, "Obviously it's because you are as clumsy at eating as you are at walking."

"Ya know, I don't understand why you have so many fan girls. If only they knew what an ass hat you really are," River told him.

"Sweets, they don't care about my personality," he informed her, "They just want me for my body."

"You keep tellin' yourself that. I've seen plenty of bodies come and go in this business, and yours is not one of the best," River said, shaking her head. She looked to the girl at Colby's side and held out her hand. "Since the boys are bein' rude, I'll introduce myself. I'm River, and this is Tenille. We mostly call her T. I'm on the ring crew, and T is known as the diva Emma."

"Hi," she responded with a smile, taking River's hand in her own, "I'm Leighla. I'm Colby's-"

"She's the love of my life," he announced proudly.

"She the one?" River asked, smiling at his nod. "Then remember what I said. If you fuck it up, you'll have to deal with me."

"I'm not like him, sweetheart. But I give you permission to fuck me up if I fuck it up," Colby told her, wrapping an arm around Leighla.

"Can I please be let in on this conversation?" Leighla asked, confused. "I feel like I'm being talked about, but I'm not sure if it's good or bad."

River nodded, "Sorry. My dad was, or still is I guess, a professional wrestler. He is currently on his third wife and child number five. Now, I'm not sayin' my mom was a keeper, because she definitely wasn't, but my first stepmom was a great lady. And my dad fucked it up. I've seen a lot of guys fuck up their relationships because they were on the road and they couldn't wait until they got home. I told Colby that if he loved you more than wrestlin', which he assured me he does, then he wouldn't do anythin' to screw it up."

"Well, thank you," Leighla said, touched. This women had never met her but was going to bat for her. It was touching.

"I've seen what it's like. How it tears families apart. How it tore mine apart. If my dad had really cared about any of us, the way he says he does now, then he wouldn't have let anythin' that happened back then happen. Especially not to repeat it twice," River shrugged. "But I guess third times a charm. I just hope for my little sister's sake, it works out this time."

"Okay, enough of this touchy feely shit," Jon said, "What are you two doing here? Any big plans for tonight?"

"I have a date," River announced, knowing it'd throw Colby for a loop.

"A real date?" he asked, "With that knight? I thought he wasn't a knight?"

That reminder hit River like she'd been sucker punched, but she refused to let it show. She'd deal with it when she was alone, wanting to enjoy this moment with friends. "No, not a knight. And he wasn't a knight. Just a boy playin' games. No, this date is with someone older-"

"I don't know if I like where this is going," Colby said.

River laughed, "I'm going to have a glass of wine, or a whole bottle, and eat a pizza, hopefully not throw it up tonight, and watch some old school wrestlin'. With my ol' man."

"Well that was quite anticlimactic," Colby told her, let down. "I didn't know 'Taker was in town."

"Sadly, he's not," River sighed, "We've been video chattin'. We watch the same show durin' the day and then talk about it later that night. It's been pretty great, rebuildin' our relationship. I kinda fucked it up a few years ago."

"Wait, the Undertaker is your dad?" Leighla asked, excited. Then she punched Colby's arm. "Why didn't you tell me that?"

"Not very many people know," River explained for what seemed like the thousandth time.

"The only reason we know is because we guessed-"

"That was a very long guessing game-"

"How did you guys meet?" Leighla asked, looking between the two.

Colby laughed, hard. And if it were possible, Jon laughed harder. "She thought she was paralyzed."

"Wait, what? How is that funny?"

"My arm was in a cast and a sling. It was immobilized. And my stepmom and my ex-boyfriends wife slipped me more pain medicine than I'd agreed to take. I was a little high."

Colby then explained in detail the day they met. Leighla also found it slightly funny, as did Tenille. The group wandered towards the food court where River was tempted to get another pastry. Before her stomach turned.

"Are you feeling okay?" Tenille asked, "You look really pale all of a sudden."

"Too many pastries," River told her, swallowing hard and trying to slow her breathing. "I'm better now. Sorry."

"I thought you assholes said you were going to meet me just outside the store," a deep baritone voice came from behind her. "I just searched for you for over an hour."

"Now I don't feel well again," she said, "Excuse me."

She made her way to the bathroom, alone. And stayed there for as long as she thought she could get away with it. She didn't need Tenille coming in after her again. Or God forbid, have Joe follow her again. She just hoped that he'd disappear into thin air. But when she got back, he was still there. And he would not look at her.

"Jeez, there you are," Tenille said, loudly. "I was just telling them how you have access to the Network-"

"We want to have a little get together at our place tonight," Colby told her, "We can hook up your computer to our TV and stream a show. Just the six of us!"

"I don't think I can," River said, trying to find a way out of this little get together. "I live an hour away from here, I'd have to go home, get my computer, and then drive home later tonight to pack and get some sleep before we take off tomorrow. And I haven't been feelin' well lately, I'd hate for you guys to get sick-"

"River, stop making excuses. I told you last week to go to the doctor if you weren't feeling well," Colby argued.

"I had an appointment with Chris. He did some blood work but it won't be back for a week or two," River responded, glaring at him.

"Is he checking for-"

"No, T. We already talked about that. It's isn't that-"

"He should check for everything," Leighla put in softly, "I don't mean to get in your business but it could be something serious."

"He's havin' it checked for everythin' that could be seriously wrong with me. But we both agreed that there was one thing he didn't need to check for because it is basically impossible to happen to me," River said. "But thank you for worryin'. I don't have many people in my life who do that-"

"Now that is a lie," Joe put in. It was the first time he'd spoken up since she'd rejoined the group. "I can name a few of the guys who worry a hell of a lot about you, Avery."

"My dad's friends don't count, Joe. I told you, I don't have friends. It's nice to gain some," River told him.

"Well, you can stay with us tonight," Colby said. "There, no more excuses. Drive home, get packed, come back to our place and we'll have an old school party. It's not like it'd be the first time we all spent the night together."

"Um, yeah it would-"

"Okay, it's not the first time the five of us have spent the night together. It's just a bonus that Leighla is here tonight."

There was no way she could argue. It was no use, Colby found every loophole in her excuses. There was always a way around them. It irritated her, but at the same time, she was glad that he was such a good friend. She used the drive home and back to Orlando to give herself a pep talk. Joe would be there. And she would have to act like it didn't bother her a bit.

She was just pulling into the parking lot where Colby and Leighla's apartment was when her phone rang. She answered it without looking at who it was.

"River, I need to see you as soon as you get to the arena tomorrow." It was Doc Chris. And he sounded, not worried, just weird.

"Did you get my results back?" she asked, his silence spoke a million words. "Just tell me now. Please. I don't think I can wait until I see you face to face."

"I know we said we didn't need to check your levels, but the lab did any way-"

"What levels, Chris?"

"Your HcG levels."

"I'm not sure what that means. But I know you're going to explain it to me right now."

"Long story short, they ran a test to see if you were pregnant-"

"Which I'm not. The fertility doctor told me that my egg count was one of the lowest he'd ever seen. He said it was virtually impossible for me to get pregnant. So what is wrong with me?"

"Well, it's that virtually that isn't saying one hundred percent. It's these tests that are saying that you are pregnant. Whoever you slept with must be super fertile, because he impregnated you."

"Well, fuck me."

"I think we should refrain from that, it's what got you pregnant in the first place," Chris joked.

"Shut up."

She hung up the phone, trying to figure out what she was going to do. On the one hand, it may be the only chance she had to have a child of her own. On the other hand, there was no way she would be able to raise this baby with its father in its life. Joe had made it perfectly clear that he didn't want anything to do with her.

River tried to get control of her feelings before going inside. She knew that Tenille would automatically know something was wrong just by the look on her face, so she tried to make herself feel impassive. Unfeeling. She knew she could do it. She'd done it for two whole years, she could do it again, just until she found out what she was going to do.

**XXX**

"Hey, River, since we've got some time to kill, do you wanna train with me?"

Her head shot up, and she knew she had a deer in the headlights look. "Um, I- it's just that- I've, uh, I've got an appointment. Yeah, um, an appointment with Doc Chris. That, uh, he called yesterday. Um, I think he, uh, might have those, uh, those test results."

"Okay, dude, chill. I'm not mad," Colby said, laughing at how she stressed she sounded. "I hope everything's alright with your results. Let us know what's going on."

"Avery! My office! Now!"

"Oh shit," River said. "Uncle Paul sounds upset. I'll see you guys later."

She walked toward Paul, with her eyes wide. She'd have to think of a better excuse for the next time someone asked her to train with them. Or anything that could potentially harm the life growing inside her. She looked up at Paul as she reached him and the look in his eyes told her that he knew.

"Uncle Paul-"

"Save it. This is discussion is for behind closed doors."

River nodded, agreeing with him. There was no way she wanted everyone to find out that she was pregnant. It could not possibly get back to Joe. She had to find a way to keep him out of the loop. Which mean keeping her closest friends out of the loop for a while as well, until she could explain that he couldn't find out.

They reached Paul's makeshift office and he held the door open for her. When she entered, she realized that they weren't going to have this conversation between just the two of them. Apparently, Steph and her dad were going to be included. Looking at her dad, however, it seemed that he was confused as to why they were in a meeting together.

"Daddy," she greeted, clearing her throat. "What are ya doin' here?"

"I think I should be askin' you that, darlin'. I was told that you have somethin' to tell us," he said, sitting down on one of the chairs in the room. The large man did not look comfortable in it at all. She took him in, his jeans and black t-shirt, his short hair, weirdly cut at that. She'd missed seeing him in person. "You're lookin' good, darlin'."

"Thank you, daddy," she responded, looking away.

"River, I think it's time to talk about your test results," Steph said, gently. She was wearing her typical business suit, it was meant to make her look harder on screen. But the tone of her voice was kind, as if she were talking to a skittish cat.

River nodded, taking a deep breath. "Um, I hadn't been feelin' that great. For almost a month now. About three weeks, I think. So I asked Doc Chris to see if he could figure out what was wrong with me. He took some blood, and sent it to a lab."

"What did the results say, darlin'?" Mark asked, he could tell that his daughter was nervous. But at least she wasn't stuttering. She was, however, ringing her hands together and if she kept those hands still he could see that she was shaking like a leaf.

"I don't really know how it's possible, I was told a couple years ago that it was very, very, very unlikely to happen. But, uh,-"

"Take a deep breath, River," Paul coaxed, knowing she was about to stutter. "He needs to hear this from you, not us."

"I, uh," she took a shaky breath, "I didn't think it would be this hard. I also didn't expect you to spring it on me like this either. Um, Daddy, I'm- well, you're gonna be a grandpa."

Silence. Utter silence. The look on his face was almost unreadable. But it did portray a little bit. He was shocked. Obviously he hadn't been expecting to hear that his oldest daughter was expecting a child. His mouth opened, then closed. And reopened, before closing again. It was as if he couldn't find the right words to say. And then it sank in and he got pissed off.

"Who do I have to kill?"

Steph and Paul started to laugh. They'd expected that reaction.

"Daddy-"

"River Avery, tell me who the fuck got you pregnant!"

"Don't you go yellin' at me ya overgrown jerk!" she yelled even louder. "It's not yer damn business who I slept with. He's not gonna be around, he doesn't know, and I'd prefer to keep it that way. He kinda turned out to be a loser. And I promised myself I'd never get into a relationship with someone who would treat me the way you-"

River flinched, as did Steph. They'd had many conversations on this exact topic, though River had never said anything to her dad about it. She didn't want to finish the thought, simply because she didn't want to hurt his feelings.

"The way I did what?" he asked, calmly this time.

"The way you treated my mom and Sara," she finished, "You're a great guy, Daddy. But you didn't always used to be. I met a guy, who I thought was great. It turns out he wasn't interested in a relationship."

"Did he hurt you?" Mark asked, his voice shaking slightly.

"No, Daddy. He didn't hurt me," she answered. It was true for the most part. But her heart was still breaking. Even more now that she knew she was carrying his baby. "It just wouldn't have worked out between the two of us."

"Does he work with ya?"

"Daddy, I'm not gonna tell you who it is. But I do want to keep this quiet. For a little while at least," River told them, "I did some research on the plane ride here and some stuff said that it's better to keep quiet for at least twelve weeks, because then I'll be out of the danger zone for miscarriages. I think I want to wait for this to get around."

"What about work? You can't very well travel."

"I can work just fine, and I can travel for a while still," River calmly told her dad. "And any way I've been offered a position in Orlando, it won't start until after WrestleMania, but I think I've made up my mind about whether I'm going to accept or not."

"Why did you tell me any of this, darlin'?"

"Because I wasn't sure what I was gonna do, Daddy. Can't you just be happy for me? Or, I don't know, give me some kind of reaction? Be happy that Vince offered me a promotion without consultin' you first? Be happy that you're gonna have a grandbaby in a few months? Or be pissed that I'm gonna have a baby? Or just be proud of me, for somethin'? Anythin'?"

"Darlin' I've always been proud of you. No matter what happened, I was always proud of you."


End file.
